It's hard not to feel conflicted about Casey Anthony. On the one hand, just about everyone in every poll out there has said they believe she killed daughter Caylee. On the other, a jury said she was not guilty of murder. And now confessions about her pregnancy with Caylee made during the psychiatric evaluations from her time in prison are about to throw another monkey wrench in the mix.
Could it be time to start feeling sorry for Casey Anthony? If the summations from Dr. Jeffery Danziger and Dr. William Weitz of her mental state while sitting in jail before even being charged with murder are to be believed, well, yes.
The way Casey describes getting pregnant with Caylee, it sounds like the girl was a teenage rape victim. Danziger may have been paraphrasing when he shared her confession, but the sparse details are all the more shocking:
Got pregnant, had the baby. Took two beers, possibly given another drug. Woke up passed out unclothed bottom. Don't remember anything at a party. Age 18. This is how she became pregnant. [Did she tell you who the father was?] No. She said she didn't know.
I don't care whether or not you think Casey Anthony is somehow responsible for the death of her child. That fact does not change the facts stated above. A man had sex with a woman who could not consent. According to the legal definition (just updated this week after 85 years!), that is rape.
At that time, if at no other, she was a sympathetic, even tragic figure. She was a scared kid who was violated in a way that no woman (or man for that matter) should.
And frankly, it puts quite the psychological twist on what has happened in Casey's life since. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the side effects of rape include substance abuse, self-harm, sleep disorders, eating disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and suicide. That would certainly explain some of Casey's behaviors as a young mom -- out partying and getting tattoos. Not to mention, women who have become pregnant from a rape are much more likely to abort or put the child up for adoption because their feelings toward said child can very understandably be tinged by the circumstances of conception. Suddenly even the lack of true feelings about her daughter's death that have so troubled the public seem to make more sense.
Then again ... we'll never know what stories Casey Anthony tells are real and which ones aren't.
See what I mean about feeling conflicted about Casey Anthony?
More on Casey Anthony:
Fame Hungry Casey Anthony Doesn't Need Her Lawyer to Book Her Interview
Second Casey Anthony Video Shows She Doesn't Care What You Think (VIDEO)
Letting Casey Anthony Adopt Dog Makes Perfect Sense (VIDEO)