Beautyshop Buzz: Is race a factor in the Casey Anthony case?

Beautyshop Buzz: Is race a factor in the Casey Anthony case?

Twenty-five year old Casey Anthony was acquitted of first-degree murder this week. Accused of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee Marie, Casey Anthony's case instantly became a national sensation on cable television, popularized by the less than likely image of abuser and abused in mother and child. After nearly six weeks of testimony, the seven women and five men jury were able to reach a decision in less than 11 hours. Judge Belvin Perry sentenced Anthony, who faced a possible death sentence, on Thursday with only four misdemeanor counts for lying to investigators during their initial search into her daughter's disappearance. When Anthony was found not guilty, many people were left in shock and disbelief leading them to even begin comparing her to O.J. Simpson. And too like Simpson, many are wondering what the future holds for Casey Anthony once she is released from jail after three years of imprisonment. Sixteen years ago, the O.J. Simpson trial became a nationwide obsession. Simpson, who prior to the trial was one of the most famous celebrity athletes, appealed to all races as the "American dream". He was an African-American pro football player, who rose to fame as the paparazzi gawked at him and his young beautiful white wife. Prior to and after his trial, numerous polls reported that a majority of whites believed that he had committed the murders and cheated the justice system, as opposed to polled blacks who believed he had been wrongfully accused. On the contrary, Anthony was a young, "middle-class" high school dropout, who enjoyed partying and spending time with her boyfriends. African-American children are the most likely children in the United States to have a parent in prison, to be in foster care, to be homeless, to live in extreme poverty and to die in infancy. The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that about 800,000 children go missing every year and an average of 2,185 everyday. We wanted to stop by the Beauty Shop to see if the case impacted them in any way, and whether they think Casey's fate would have been different if she or her daughter had been of a different race.