Jurors' names released in Anthony trial

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A Florida court Tuesday released the names of the jurors who acquitted Casey Anthony of first-degree murder, three months after the verdict.

The Orlando (Fla.) reported the names, but none of the jurors has spoken publicly about the verdict, in which Anthony was acquitted in July of first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

The jurors -- all Pinellas County, Fla., residents -- have already declined one opportunity to speak to the media collectively and it remains unclear why they reached the verdict.

The Sentinel noted jurors' identities are normally released in Florida after a verdict is rendered.

But amid concerns about the safety of the jurors in the Anthony case, Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry decided July 26 to postpone the release of their names during a three-month "cooling-off" period.

The judge noted the verdict was unpopular to a "large segment of the public" and referred to signs held by people outside the Orange County Courthouse after the verdict that read, "Arrest the Jury," and "Somewhere a Village is Missing 12 Idiots."

Some jurors had reported being threatened and said they felt as if they were "prisoners in their own homes," Perry wrote in his order to postpone release of their names. The judge noted a news report said one juror had to quit work and leave Florida because of threats.

"Only time will heal those upset by the verdict and will allow public interest to subside sufficiently that violence may be avoided," Perry wrote in the order.