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Casey Anthony Jurors to Be Identified This Fall

There is controversy over whether the names of the Pinellas County jurors should be disclosed. What do you think? Take our poll.

 

The identities of the 14 Pinellas County jurors in the Casey Anthony trial will be revealed on or after Oct. 25.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Judge Belvin Perry made the ruling this week.

Names of jurors are usually public record in Florida, but Judge Perry had decided to seal their names to protect them.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that when he issued the ruling on Tuesday, Perry said, "No one spoke for the jurors and no one provided evidence concerning the jurors' safety or privacy concerns... No one argued the public policy consequences of releasing juror information."

A Pinellas county jury found the Orlando mother not guilty in the murder of her daughter Caylee in July. News of the not-guilty verdict prompted negative responses from the public and even drew some threats to jurors.

Three alternate jurors in the trial released their names, including Russell Huekler of St. Petersburg, who was the first to speak about the case. Huekler said he supported the jury decision.

Palm Harbor resident Dean Eckstadt also served as an alternate juror. Alternate juror Jennifer Ford, who is a nursing student at St. Petersburg College also spoke to the media about her experience. 

In Clearwater, Judge Tom McGrady said the attention regarding the Anthony trial makes it difficult to find good jurors.

“Jurors are being criticized for doing their job,” McGrady said. “They are the only ones that heard all of the evidence and only the evidence. The jury made their decision based on the law.”

McGrady added that a not-guilty verdict does not necessarily mean a person is innocent; it just means the state didn’t have enough evidence to convict. In this case, McGrady said it showed the system works.

  • If you were Judge Belvin Perry, what would you do with the names of jurors in the Casey Anthony trial?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • Never release the names.
        65 (46%)
    • Wait to release the names.
        30 (21%)
    • Release the names immediately after the trial.
        44 (31%)
    Total votes: 139
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Casey Anthony Case, Casey Anthony Jury, and casey anthony

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