Casey Anthony Trial: Prosecutor Jeff Ashton Tells of Caylee's Death in New Book
Retired prosecutor Jeff Ashton has a slew of media appearances scheduled Tuesday to promote his new book, Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony, which documents the Casey Anthony murder trial.
"I've written a book to let people know the truth about the case from my perspective," Ashton, a former prosecutor from the case, told the Orlando Sentinel Monday.
According to reviews, the book sheds a particularly crucial light on Anthony's attorneys and the jurors. Ashton refers to Anthony's leading defense lawyer, Jose Baez, as "smarmy."
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"There is an unearned air of arrogance about the man that is incredibly frustrating to witness," Ashton wrote of Baez. "I genuinely dislike Jose Baez."
Ashton also describes the Anthony family as being highly dysfunctional. He ascertained that Cindy Anthony, mother of Casey, was in denial, and he believes Caylee was in fact murdered.
He also provides his opinion of the jury, who he feels did not hold strong opinions regarding the case.
"This jury felt it was reasonable to respond to a child drowning by placing duct tape over her mouth and throwing her in a swamp. Is it reasonable to believe that would happen? I disagree," he told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday.
He also writes of how he thought the jury was coddled and pampered.
Ashton appeared on the "Today" show Tuesday morning to discuss the book with NBC's Matt Lauer.
When asked if he regrets his prosecutorial tactics, Ashton told Lauer: "Honestly I don't think there's anything that we could have done differently that would have made a difference."
Ashton told Lauer that now that the trial is over, he wants people to "ignore" Casey Anthony.
Anthony became a national news sensation during her three-year court trial, in which she was accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.
Casey Anthony was found "not guilty" in July 2011.
The 25-year-old remains in hiding at an undisclosed location in Florida. She is currently on probation for an unrelated fraud check case, and is also undergoing a trial for the defamation of Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.
She still owes the state of Florida $217,000 for investigation costs.
Casey Anthony has yet to address the public in an interview.
