Next for Casey Anthony: Freedom, Book Deals, Analysts Says

Watch an exclusive interview with Jeff Ashton, prosecutor in the Casey Anthony trial, on “Dr. Drew” tonight at 9 ET on HLN. Then, Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET on HLN, don’t miss a two-hour special event, “Justice for Caylee: A Nancy Grace Special.” HLN looks at the evidence and emotional testimony from the Casey Anthony murder trial.

(CNN) – Don’t be surprised if Casey Anthony gets out of jail as a free woman after his conviction on Thursday, legal experts say.

And, they add, nothing prevents her from taking advantage of book or movie deals – as her acquittal on serious charges now means she is free to profit from her story.

With Tuesday’s not guilty verdict on the murder charges behind her, Anthony – and the thousands riveted by every turn of the case – now turn their attention to Thursday, when the 25-year-old learns of her plight. .

A jury on Tuesday found Anthony not guilty of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter in the 2008 death of his daughter Caylee.

But she still faces conviction on four counts of lying to police about a missing person case.

Each misdemeanor count carries a maximum sentence of one year in county jail, for which Judge Belvin Perry has the option of sentencing her consecutively or simultaneously.

Many legal experts believe Anthony will be released after serving her sentence because she has already been in jail for around three years.

“I’d be surprised if she didn’t come out of the courtroom Thursday,” Atlanta defense attorney Penny Douglas Furr said. “She’s already served so long. I don’t think the judge will serve her any longer. The real question now is what she will do next.”

Orange County Corrections said in a statement Wednesday that its policy was to “release a jury-acquitted inmate from the courthouse under normal circumstances. However, due to the high-profile nature of this case and the In the intense emotional interest of the public, appropriate action will be taken to release the acquitted into the community so as to preserve the safety of the acquitted individual and the public.

There will be no legal restrictions on Anthony taking advantage of the details of this case, cashing in on offers for films, books or interviews, analysts say.

Because of his acquittal, the so-called Son of Sam laws – laws designed to prevent criminals from making money from their crimes – do not apply, they say.

“Why can’t she make money with her story,” said Drew Findling, another defense attorney. “You’ve seen so many cases where prosecution witnesses have profited from the case. Look at the OJ Simpson case and how the prosecutor, who lost the case, wrote books and made money by continued. So why can’t Casey do it? “

HLN’s Nancy Grace, who has covered the Anthony case extensively since Caylee was reported missing in 2008, has not mince words about Anthony’s possible plans.

“Now mom finally has the good life she imagined. She’s free,” Grace said on her show Tuesday. “She will be released this Thursday. She is set to earn quite possibly over a million dollars from the murder of her 2 year old daughter, Caylee Anthony.”

Dr Drew Pinsky, host of HLN’s ‘Dr. Drew’ said: “If she’s as much of a monster as the court of public opinion believes … this isn’t the last we hear from her. She will have her day. She will do something else that will crumble into the chaos around her for sure. That’s just the way these people are. If, indeed, she is what we think she is. which is. “

Anthony is facing a defamation lawsuit and received a subpoena for a videotaped deposition Tuesday night in jail.

When Caylee went missing, Anthony said the 2-year-old was with a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez. Eventually confronted with her family, she maintained that Gonzalez had kidnapped Caylee.

Authorities never found a nanny by that name looking after Caylee. They found a woman named Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, who denied ever having met the Anthony’s and then filed a defamation complaint.

The seven-week criminal trial ended with less than 11 hours of deliberation when an Orange County jury found Anthony not guilty of the most serious charges.

“This jury ignored the scientific evidence,” said New York lawyer Susan Moss. “Apparently they found the only 12 people who still think the world is flat.”

But Andrea Lyon, who once represented Anthony, said the evidence was not there.

“These lawsuits have gone too far,” Lyon said on “AC360”. “They used unwanted science. They tried to fill the evidence gap with character assassination. They had no evidence of a homicide.”

Jurors in the case declined to speak to the media, as did four other jurors.

The fifth, Russell Huekler, told CNN he agreed with the verdict “wholeheartedly”.

“The prosecution has not proven their case,” Huekler said. “The big unanswered question: How did Caylee die?”

Throughout the trial, dozens of people lined up outside the Orlando courtroom to get a glimpse of the show. The proceedings included allegations of sexual abuse, questions regarding Anthony’s competence, and various theories about what happened to Caylee.

Prosecutors alleged Anthony used chloroform to render his daughter unconscious, then taped her mouth and nose to suffocate her. They alleged that she put the child’s body in the trunk of her car for a few days before disposing of it.

Anthony’s defense attorneys maintained that Caylee was not murdered at all. They said the child drowned in Anthony’s above ground pool on July 16 and that Anthony and his father, George, panicked when they found him there and covered up the death.

Anthony’s lawyer, Jose Baez, also alleged that Anthony’s father sexually assaulted her when she was 8 and was taught to hide her pain. Education explained some of Anthony’s bizarre behaviors during his daughter’s disappearance, he argued.

Reportedly, Anthony was not frantically searching for her missing child, as she later told police. Instead, she left her parents’ house and stayed with her then-boyfriend Tony Lazzaro. She also had a tattoo of “Bella Vita” – in Italian for “good life” – and went shopping, witnesses said. She also partied at nightclubs in Orlando and entered a “hot body” contest at one point, according to testimony.

George Anthony denied the sexual assault allegation in his testimony, saying, “I would never do something like this to my daughter.”

Throughout the trial, the pain Anthony’s family felt was evident.

Her father and mother sometimes sobbed at the booth remembering their granddaughter.

George Anthony also cried as he testified to his suicide attempt in January 2009, which came shortly after Caylee’s remains were identified.

At one point during the trial, Anthony’s mother Cindy was seen saying the words “I love you” to her.

After the verdict, the parents released a statement saying they wanted to “go ahead in private” and asked the media to respect their privacy.

“Although the family may never know what happened to Caylee Marie Anthony, they have now closed this chapter in their lives. They will now begin the long process of rebuilding their lives,” the parents’ statement said.

Cindy Anthony could face perjury charges, one of the prosecutors in the Casey Anthony murder trial said on Wednesday.

Cindy Anthony testified that she was responsible for searching the Internet on the family’s personal computer for information on chloroform. But records indicated she was at work at the time.

Asked by NBC’s “Today Show” whether legal action will be taken against Cindy Anthony for allegedly perjuring herself on the witness stand, Jeff Ashton replied, “I think there might be. It will be a decision. taken by another branch of our office. “

If Casey Anthony is released on Thursday, it is not known if she will rebuild her relationship with her parents.

Session correspondent Jean Casarez said she asked Cheney Mason from Anthony’s defense team where Anthony will go when she is free.

“He told me that it wouldn’t be, with all seriousness, to go back to his family home,” said Casarez. “But, of course, anything is possible.”

Watch Nancy Grace Monday through Sunday from 8 p.m. ET on HLN. For the latest news from Nancy Grace, click here.