Casey Anthony is a free woman. She was released from the Orange County jail shortly after midnight as protesters and throngs of media camped outside. Anthony got into an SUV in the company of her attorney Jose Baez, and neither said anything to reporters. Her lawyers have kept the 25-year-old's destination and future plans a secret. Anthony was given $537.68 in cash from her jail account and escorted outside by sheriff's deputies.
One of her attorneys, Cheney Mason, said yesterday that Anthony was scared to leave jail, given numerous threats on her life and the scorn of a large segment of the public that believes she had something to do with the death of daughter Caylee, despite her acquittal 12 days ago. Another defense attorney, Charles Greene, said that Anthony was "emotionally unstable" and needed "a little breathing room" after the two-month trial. She is expected to try to disguise her appearance to some degree. (More Casey Anthony stories.)