Casey Anthony Verdict: Why did the jury say not guilty?
(CBS/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Jurors have declined to talk to reporters after acquitting Casey Anthony of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter, leaving many to wonder - why did the jury say not guilty?
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
If convicted of first-degree murder, Anthony could have faced the death penalty, and according to Charles Rose, a legal expert and professor at Stetson University, the state did not have enough evidence to make a capital murder case.
"They did not have cause of death or time of death and they still chose to go for a capital one murder charge," said Rose. "They chose to roll a big dice."
Rose believes that if Caylee's body had been found one day or even a week after she was missing, all of the questions that everyone has would be answered. Instead when Caylee's body was found,only bones - and circumstantial evidence - remained.
The prosecutors, according to Rose, should have gone for negligent homicide, in which the state would have to prove she wasn't watching the child properly and that is what led to her death.
Though jurors declined to talk to reporters after their decision, an alternate juror told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday he thought they came to the right verdict. Russell Huekler told the network he didn't think the prosecution presented enough evidence to sustain a murder charge.
"When they explained to us what reasonable doubt was, I definitely had reasonable doubt then," Huekler said.
Huekler also said he didn't think prosecutors provided a motive for why Anthony would kill her daughter.
"Just because Casey was a party girl did not show why she would possibly kill Caylee," he said.
"I believe that [the jury's decision] is an affirmation of the way justice works in the United States," says Rose.
Prosecutors contended that Anthony suffocated Caylee with duct tape because she wanted to be free to hit the nightclubs and spend time with her boyfriend. Defense attorneys argued that the little girl accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool.
Anthony is unlikely to face any additional time in jail.
48 Hours Mystery's special on the verdict, Casey Anthony: Judgment Day