Immediate Word

At first the reaction across the country was incredulous disbelief -- then as the reality of the Casey Anthony verdict set in, the public mood seemed to darken as it morphed into frustration and righteous anger. Stoked by the white-hot spotlight of cable news channels that had turned what might have been just another murder trial into a ratings bonanza, national interest was focused last week on the puzzling outcome of a case that had clear-cut villains -- or so commentators had told us for months.