Media frenzy can't penetrate Casey Anthony's cell

Walter Pacheco Sentinel Staff Writer
January 7, 2009

The Web and TV are abuzz with the latest news about Casey Anthony.

But the most high-profile inmate at the Orange County Jail gets most of her news the old-fashioned way -- on a small transistor radio from inside her 7-foot-by-12-foot cell in the county's female detention center."

[Anthony] has very limited access to the outside world," jail spokesman Allen Moore said. "She's not watching Nancy Grace."The question of Anthony's connection to the outside world surfaced after an attorney for her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, said in a statement that they intend to have a public memorial service for their granddaughter, Caylee Marie, whose skeletal remains were found in a wooded lot near her home Dec. 11.

Officials have confirmed that Anthony, who is being held without bail and charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, won't be allowed to leave the jail to attend any service for Caylee.No date or time for the service has been announced.Jail officials said Tuesday they have not yet decided whether Anthony would be allowed to watch the service on television.

She has no limit on her Sony SRF 39FP, a $21 radio she bought from the jail's commissary. It's specifically designed for inmates in U.S. corrections facilities: Its transparent case is supposed to prevent inmates from using it to conceal things. The main reason for Casey Anthony's limited access to television news is her Level 1 protective-custody status -- triggered in part by her notoriety.

That level of security is given to high-profile inmates such as Lisa Nowak and Lou Pearlman, who generate massive amounts of media coverage. Anthony and six others are currently in Level 1 status."The protective status helps avoid situations that will affect the inmate's safety or the jail's operation," Moore said.Because Anthony is kept isolated from other inmates, she spends most of her time alone in her cell, without a clear view of the television set located in that part of the female-detention center.

That television, which only receives local stations, is rarely turned on because of the "mix of psychological observation and disciplinary classifications of the inmates" in protective custody, Moore said.However, Anthony can request to watch television during the one hour per day she is allowed out of her cell. The hour is normally reserved for showers and other activities."A corrections officer will stay with her in an adjacent classroom to supervise while she watches television," Moore said.

Inmates who are not in protective custody have more television access. All inmates can subscribe to newspapers, but they are not distributed in common areas at the jail. She and other inmates do not have access to the Internet. Incoming mail is opened and reviewed by mailroom staffers for contraband and outgoing mail is sometimes opened, officials said. Although the jail keeps a log of her visitors, and records all phone calls and video visitations, officials do not track what Casey Anthony watches on television.

Moore said it's unclear how much television she watches. For the time being, Anthony's limited connection to the outside is mainly her radio and the snippets she overhears from other inmates."She may not be in contact with other inmates, but she can hear what they are saying outside her cell," Moore said.