Casey Anthony judge was trying to send message with maximum sentence, says expert
(CBS/WKMG/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Even though Casey Anthony will be released from jail on Wednesday of next week, Judge Belvin Perry was trying to send a message to the Florida mom about the consequences of the lies that she told police, says a legal expert.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
According to Prof. Charles Rose of Stetson University College of Law, Perry was trying to make a point about the amount of money the state lost in the investigation into Casey's disappearance.
Casey Anthony was given the maximum sentence - four years in prison - for four counts of providing false information to a police officer, but with credit for time served and good behavior she will remain in jail for just one more week.
"The state incurred over $1 million in costs. The costs for the searches were the most expensive, and they were all generated by lies," said Rose. The "severity of the sentence," said Rose, fits those high costs.
At the sentencing hearing, Perry rejected a defense argument that the four counts be merged into one count, as they all "arose from a single criminal episode. Perry called them "four separate and distinct lies" that each caused law enforcement to expend resources in the search for Caylee.
Perry and attorneys figured out her credit for time served and good behavior after her sentencing hearing.
Rose explained that during that meeting they would also have discussed Anthony's quality of life in prison. "They have to figure how much potential danger she could be in, in the general population," Rose said.
Anthony could also be in danger when she is released as well, due to the widespread belief that she is guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, Rose said.
"The best thing in the world for her is that she'll be in jail for the little bit of time to let people cool off," said Rose.
After the sentencing, protesters chanted Caylee's name outside the courthouse as well as "Justice for Caylee," reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
Casey Anthony has been in jail since October 2008. On Tuesday, Anthony was acquitted on first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter charges in the death of her daughter, Caylee.