Casey Anthony Trial Update: Casey Anthony sentenced, headed back to jail
(CBS/WKMG/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Casey Anthony was sentenced Thursday by Judge Belvin Perry to four years in prison for lying to police, but with credit for time served and good behavior she is likely to be released in late July or early August.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
She must also pay a fine of $4000 and court costs.
Anthony was found not guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, but was convicted of four lesser charges of providing false information to a police officer.
She received one year in jail, to be served consecutively, on each of those counts.
The defense requested that the four counts be merged into one count, as they all "arose from a single criminal episode." The defense argued that as the lies arose from one period of questioning, it would invoke double jeopardy to sentence Casey Anthony separately for each of them.
Perry rejected the defense's argument, calling them "four separate and distinct lies" that each caused law enforcement to expend resources in the search for Caylee.
Legal experts believed that Anthony would not face any additional jail time for the misdemeanor charges.
The Casey Anthony trial began on May 24 in a case that has been broadcast across the country, starting with Caylee's disappearance in 2008. Caylee's decomposed body was found in the woods near the Anthony's home and a medical examiner was never able to determine how she died.
The prosecution contended that Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by her mother. The defense said that Caylee accidentally drowned.