Casey Anthony Doesn't Deserve a Dime

I’ve tried to bury my head in the sand for the past few weeks as the Casey Anthony trial took center stage on news programs, websites and blogs. For my own sanity, I couldn’t immerse myself in reading about a mother who possibly murdered her baby.

When my own son was five years old, he wandered over to the neighbor’s house without asking, and I had 911 on the line within minutes. I still get weak knees thinking about it.

Any mother who has lost a child — even for a minute — knows what terror feels like, and Casey Anthony did the exact opposite of what most other mothers would have done.

But as the verdict was handed down this week, I was glued to the television as much as the next person. I was shocked to hear the jury’s decision. From what I knew about the case, it seemed that justice would be done, and Casey Anthony would be convicted. Instead, she was convicted on lesser charges of lying to authorities. And so the mother who loved to party will not be headed to death row but instead will be freed on July 13. 

It also looks like she will have quite the bank account to cover those drinks and buy skimpy outfits for more “hot body” contests. Many news reports indicate that Casey Anthony is possibly set to make millions of dollars. From whom? Hollywood media and news programs, of course.

But this is so wrong. Casey Anthony should never be given a microphone or a book or movie deal. She is either completely insane or a murderer — or both.

The woman is a criminal, and it is sickening to even think of her and her family, or her agents, wading through offer after offer for paid interviews, books deals, or deciding which Hollywood starlet should play her in a movie.

Shame on any news outlet, corporation, gossip website, or Hollywood movie producer who gives this woman a dime. By paying Casey Anthony for her sordid story, they are profiting from a child’s death.

How sick.

I can’t think of many things more despicable than seeing photos of little Caylee Anthony spread all over the world while knowing that her mother is reaping the rewards of her tragic death.  

Penny Young Nance is CEO of Concerned Women for America.