Did Casey Anthony Walk Away Free?

This week I logged into my Facebook page only to be greeted by a massive outpouring of rage in response to Casey Anthony’s non-guilty verdict.
 
Two year old Caylee  Anthony of Orlando, Florida disappeared in June 2008. Her skeletal remains were found five months after her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, reported her missing, on December 11, 2008.
 
All fingers pointed furiously at the child’s mother Casey who had partied for a month after her daughter’s death without revealing Caylee was missing.  Despite a lot of evidence that she was guilty, the jury wasn’t satisfied with the facts.
 
Just like my Facebook followers, citizens all over the United States were livid upon learning the decision of the jury. Within minutes of the verdict being publicized, there were almost 4 000 associated news stories and blog entries tracked by Google. CNN broke all previous records of page views. Twitter reportedly published more than 325 000 related comments, and Facebook tallied posts at more than ten every second.
 
Casey Anthony has become the most vilified woman in America, condemned as a compulsive liar and heartless mother who murdered her own daughter so that she could spend her life shopping and partying.
 
How does the Torah view Casey Anthony?
 
The following law is cited in Maimonides’ Laws of Sanhedrin: "If a Sanhedrin (Jewish Court of Law) opens a capital case with a unanimous guilty verdict, the accused is exempt, until some merit is found to acquit him; then, those who convict will be in the majority, and then he will be put to death." What this means is that if 37 out of the 71 judges of Sanhedrin declare a person guilty, and the other 34 are adamant he is innocent, he is sentenced to death. If 70 say guilty and one says not, he also dies. But if all 71 pronounce him guilty he walks out scot-free. If a majority court declare a man guilty then we sentence him to death, yet if the decision is unanimous he walks free – where is the logic?
 
The answer boils down to the purpose of the murderer’s death. Do we kill him to extract vengeance, to remove this evil creature from society, or to cleanse his soul? Judaism maintains the latter—the only way the accused can atone for his heinous crime and thus purify his soul is through his own death.  Therefore since the death penalty serves as atonement, it can only be applied in a case where atonement is a possibility through death. Certain crimes, however, are considered so severe that no death penalty can provide the necessary penitence. These crimes are so horrific that the defendant, as it were, is not worthy of being put to death by the court and thereby attaining expiation for the crime.
 
So in a case where not a single judge on the Sanhedrin could put forth any argument in his favor, he would be exempt from the death penalty-- not due to innocence on his part-- but rather because his sin is too great to deserve the "easy" atonement this method would offer.
 
Yet, although the individual may walk free from the court, he certainly cannot escape G-d's judgment. For G-d, the fairest judge of all, will see to it that the person be punished accordingly. Because at the end of the day, no guilty party ever wins freedom. Trust G-d to make sure this person pays for what he did.
 
In the case of Casey Anthony, I have no idea what happened that night, and I don’t think anybody besides Casey herself knows. The jury acquitted her based on lack of evidence; however one thing is certain-- if she did indeed murder her child and deserves retribution, it will come her way.
 
So for all my outraged Facebook friends who demand justice, rest assured, there will be justice! For although one may escape a jury’s wrath, there’s no running from the wrath of G-d.