The Death of Innocence - Caylee Anthony

Post by Dr. Keith Ablow on FoxNews.com

"Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder, which makes good sense.


Much of the state's case rested on the fact that Casey didn't seem grief-stricken at all after her daughter went missing. She actually went out dancing, had sex and got a tattoo.  Yet, for those who cannot fathom how Casey Anthony could have gone out partying with men and spending money on clothes after the death of Caylee Anthony -unless she killed her daughter - there is another potential explanation.
Some emotionally vulnerable people can experience mania-the "high" phase of bipolar disorder, essentially the opposite of depression - in the setting of unthinkable trauma or loss.
Even if you despise Casey Anthony, you have to admit that the death of her daughter (if she did not kill her) would qualify as such a trauma or loss. Symptoms of mania could then ensue, including: overspending, hypersexual behavior, sleeplessness and a sense of euphoria (which would be seen in photographs as seeming joy).
Indeed, one could imagine that a human being's mind might well "snap" into mania if, for example, she were the victim of rape as a child (something Casey accuses her father of perpetrating), then learned that the man responsible for her rape had tried to sexually assault her daughter while using chloroform to drug her, only to cause her death "accidentally."
And, believe it or not, a young woman in denial of her assailant's depravity, preferring to think she was actually "chosen" as a little girl over her mother, might even cover up for her assailant and the killer of her daughter, because she has been trained to hide his assaultiveness her whole life. She might even sit still for a long, long time, despite that man making the death of her daughter look like murder by a third individual.
I'm not saying that anything really happened this way, but it could have. Really. And if it did, it would certainly explain why George Anthony would contemplate suicide in the middle of this case
(Grandparents don't routinely try to kill themselves when their grandchildren go missing or are found dead; in fact, I have never, ever heard of it happening).
And it would also explain why George Anthony would have an affair while his granddaughter was missing (which he denies)-because in this scenario he would be unable to control his sexual impulses in a variety of venues.
Again, I am not saying that this is what happened. I am saying that it is plausible from the standpoint of a forensic psychiatrist. And I just don't know how you send a woman to jail for life, or for decades, or to her death for killing her daughter, when there's an alternate storyline that holds water just as well."



Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team. Dr. Ablow can be reached at info@keithablow.com. His team of Life Coaches can be reached at lifecoach@keithablow.com.




Here is my comment to Dr. Ablow's post, and also sent as an e-mail to multiple Fox News programs.

"Dr. Ablow what nonsense coming from someone who is supposedly educated?  The last paragraph in your post exposes your lack of wisdom!


"Again, I am not saying that this is what happened. I am saying that it is plausible from the standpoint of a forensic psychiatrist. And I just don't know how you send a woman to jail for life, or for decades, or to her death for killing her daughter, when there's an alternate storyline that holds water just as well."


ANY CRIME EVER COMMITTED HAS AN INFINITE NUMBER OF FICTIONAL, "PLAUSIBLE" AND "ALTERNATIVE" EXCUSES FOR THE COMMISSION OF THAT CRIME!  THE RESULT OF APPLYING YOUR LIBERAL MANTRA TO ANY COURT CASE OF MURDER, RAPE, OR ANY OTHER CRIMINAL ACTS OF DISGUST,  WOULD BE A FINDING OF INNOCENCE - THERE IS ALWAYS AN "ALTERNATIVE "STORYLINE".  WHY WOULD WE NEED A LEGAL SYSTEM THAT COULD NEVER SERVE UP A CONVICTION BECAUSE OF THE EVER PRESENT AVAILABILITY OF "ALTERNATIVE STORYLINES"?


No court case should ever be decided from the standpoint of a liberal, pseudo forensic psychiatrist like yourself - LETS RETURN TO DECIDING COURT CASES FROM THE STANDPOINTS OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE!


You sir, along with this verdict, are the ones who "do NOT make good sense".  How about giving us your analysis of why an innocent person Like Casey Anthony would invent "ringers" like her own father, her brother, a meter reader, or a phantom nanny to avoid her conviction?  She started with a non-existent phantom, and after being caught on that one, she was at least wily enough to use real people for her next three attempts to switch the spotlight off of herself.  So Dr. Ablow, she created four "alternative storylines", and that was enough to avoid conviction for a hideous crime against her daughter Caylee.  Thanks for your support as a healer, in another travesty of justice!





I would urge Fox News to find another psychiatrist to replace you with, or at the very least, to use you for medical comments only, and NOT legal opinions!  Fox News already has Judge Napolitano to handle those!"

My comment, as an e-mail was sent to multiple Fox News Programs

UPDATE:  WOW!  I just saw a bizarre video posted by Judge Napolitano where he states his position that the verdict was correct, and our legal system is great even though it allows a "few criminals" to escape justice.
Here is my comment to his video:
"The legal system in America is FLAWED!  The ONLY reason to even have a legal system is for the SOLE purpose of JUSTICE.  What do people want from ANY legal system?  JUSTICE!
The American system is a dismal failure in providing JUSTICE.  "...tolerates the criminality of a few"?  I don't think so - the "few" has become more than the celebrities, more than the super rich, and more than the clients of the elitist attorneys.  It has become the NORM for ALL crimes, right down to the level of the common man in the street.  So the legal system no longer FUNCTIONS as was intended.  FIX IT NOW, even if there is great resistance from attorneys.
Here in Texas we have passed SIGNIFICANT tort reform - "loser pays", which has stopped most "frivolous" suits in their tracks!  Has also promoted gains in the general economy here, too.  Great job TEXAS, JUSTICE has been served, but even more significant tort reform is necessary to return JUSTICE to our system of law.  Judge, I am afraid I will have to watch your comments more closely than I thought.  Fox, you may want to consider having a "backup" judge waiting in the wings?  At least a second opinion."