Fla. AG: Anthony should do probation

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla.

Casey Anthony should be forced to serve probation for check fraud because it was impossible to enforce the sentence when she was jailed while awaiting trial on charges of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Florida’s attorney general said Monday.

A court filing from Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office opposes efforts by Anthony’s attorneys — who say the woman is back in Florida — to prevent her from serving the probation sentence. Last week, Anthony’s attorneys filed an appeal arguing she had already served the probation sentence while she was jailed on the murder charge.

Anthony was acquitted last month of murdering her daughter, Caylee, in a case unrelated to the check fraud, and she was released from the Orange County Jail. Since then, her exact whereabouts have been secret.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland sentenced Anthony to a year of probation in January 2010 after she pleaded guilty to stealing checks from a friend. He clarified in an order earlier this month that Anthony must begin her probation now that she is out of jail. He then recused himself from the case.

A Department of Corrections spokeswoman said Monday that there is a possibility Anthony could report to a probation office outside Orlando.

Casey Anthony was born in Warren in 1986 to George and Cindy Anthony, who lived in Howland before moving the family to Florida in 1989.