Why I Can't Stop Thinking About this Murder Case

I am watching the morning news and they're talking about Casey Anthony being released from prison.  It's been almost 100 years since Blanca de Saulles walked away free, after gunning down her ex-husband, and it seems nothing has changed. A pretty young girl, accused of murder, tells a tale of woe and the jury lets her walk free. 

What's unique about Blanca is that she shot John de Saulles in front of several witnesses - his father, his butler, his best friend, and her own trembling maid. Unlike Lizzie Borden, or OJ Simpson, there is absolutely no doubt that she pulled the trigger. The prosecutor thought he had a slam dunk case, until the defense attorney came along. 

In the 3 months leading up to her trial, Blanca talked to reporters from her jail cell and charmed them all. She fainted and doctors feared for her health, declaring her anemic. They allowed her darling 4 year old boy to visit her in prison. A concert pianist friend visited Blanca and played the piano (that the sheriff provided) for the pleasure of the other murderers, arsonists, and drunkards in lock up. 

How did the tables turn so quickly? Her ex-husband John de Saulles was a popular college football star, a successful New York businessman, and well liked by everyone... until his wife shot him dead. Blanca in jail became a martyr, and John became the scoundrel who drove her to madness.