Casey Anthony, Troy Davis and Amanda Knox have become infamous public figures because of verdicts that most don’t feel are equivalent to the crime committed. Casey Anthony was set free being exonerated for the death of her two- year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, while Troy Davis was given the death penalty for a case that did not have enough plausible evidence to prove that he shot a cop on duty. Amanda Knox was recently cleared for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher and released from an Italian prison. It isn’t fair for someone to get off easy for a horrendous crime or, even worse, pay for a crime they didn’t commit. But that is our system of justice.

Casey Anthony told several fabricated stories to law officials of how Caylee was kidnapped by a nanny. Caylee’s skeletal remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag in a wooded area. After pleading not guilty and using dysfunctional upbringing as an explanation for her actions, Casey was found not guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child, but found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.

The verdict shocked many people who truly believed that the justice system would do its job. However, the jury felt that there wasn’t enough evidence to say she was the one to murder her daughter. Just like Robert Frost said, “A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.” Meaning Ms. Anthony’s defense team was able to paint a better picture in the jury’s minds enough to convince them of her innocence. Right now Ms. Anthony is free and can live on with her life and make plans for the future. Where is the justice in that? Caylee had hopes and dreams that will never be known because of a selfish mother who wanted an easy way out.It isn’t an uncommon thing to know that though we say everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, we really aren’t. Troy Davis was an African American man convicted of and executed for the August 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, GA.

The case revolved around the testimonies of several witnesses who testified that they had seen Troy Davis shoot MacPhail. Even though no murder weapon was ever found, he was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death in August 1991 but the verdict did not take place until 2011. Mr. Davis had four rescheduled death sentences.
Many believed in Davis’ innocence. He got support from famous public figures like Al Sharpton and Pope Benedict XVI. In August 2010 the court still found Mr. Davis guilty and he was sentenced to death on Sept. 21. A petition of a million signatures was created urging the state of Georgia to give Mr. Davis clemency, or leniency. But after a last minute appeal to the United States Supreme Court was denied, the sentence was carried out through lethal injection.It was clear that there was not enough evidence to go on except the testimonies of witnesses who later said they felt coerced into testifying against Davis by police. Even if Mr. Davis was the one who actually shot and killed the cop, the court did not have the needed evidence to go through with the death penalty. I felt the law failed a man who was not given a fair chance due to the circumstances of the situation.

Amanda Knox is another case where justice may not have been served. She was convicted for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Ms. Kercher was found dead on the floor of her bedroom. The cause of death was from a stab wound to the throat. Amanda Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were charged for the murder of Knox’s roommate. They were sentenced to 25 years in prison.

During the investigations, police gathering of evidence was later found to be sloppy, using dirty gloves to pick up new evidence and not following proper procedure for a crime scene. For her second appeal, the court had the forensic DNA experts testify in court. They testified that the evidence given in by the police was not supported by the lab work. On Oct. 3, 2011, the court overturned Ms. Knox’s conviction but kept the conviction of slander for falsely accusing her former manager of being the one to murder Ms. Kercher.
Amanda Knox is a free woman who is ready to get her life back on track. She is another victim of the law for the fact that there was not much evidence except forensic DNA that was later proved to have been tampered with. The real killer is Rudy Guede and he is currently spending his life in prison. The police felt the case went further than one man and made up this conspiracy of two lovers who wanted to kill an innocent girl for no particular reason. The only thing that Ms. Knox can be guilty of is lying about being slapped by police officials during interrogation and accusing her former boss, Patrick Lumumba, of being present at the scene of the crime.

Crime and punishment. That is the purpose of law to punish those who commit crimes. You would think the punishment would be fitting to the crime committed but it isn’t always like that. A person can only get two years for first-degree murder while an accomplice can get life. Is the court system making it easier for those guilty without a reasonable doubt to go free or making it harder for those innocent of a crime to clearing their names?