Casey Anthony Gets Four Years for Lying

Casey Anthony was given a four-year sentence this morning for lying to police in connection with the investigation surrounding her daughter's death, but she will get credit for time served since 2008.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Chief Judge Belvin Perry handed down the sentence this morning, but how much credit she gets will be calculated later. The sentence also includes a $1,000-fine for each of the four counts of lying, according to the Los Angeles Times report.

Though she won't be released today, an article in USA Today stated that Casey Anthony could go free as early as July.

Casey Anthony was accused of murdering her daughter Caylee Anthony, 2. Casey Anthony faced the death penalty if she was convicted.

Prosecutors believed Casey Anthony smothered her daughter with duct tape on June 16, 2008, and drove for several days with the 2-year-old's body in the truck of her car before dumping the remains in the woods near the family home. The prosecution said Casey Anthony killed her daughter by drugging her and suffocating her using duct tape in order to party. Duct tape was found on the toddler's face and chloroform was found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car.

But the defense contested that Caylee Anthony died in an accidental drowning in the family's backyard pool, which led to a cover-up by the family.

The prosecution and an alternate juror has said that Casey Anthony, 25, was not convicted because they couldn't prove how Caylee Anthony died. The two-year-old's body was in an advanced stage of decomposition when it was found and so it was impossible to determine a cause of death.

Alternate juror Russell Huekler has said, The prosecution failed to prove their case and there was reasonable doubt. Again, they didn't show us how Caylee died. They didn't show us a motive. I'm sorry people feel that way. ... These were 17 total jurors. They really listened to this case and kept an open mind.