Court: Casey Anthony to be released July 13

Story by MSNBC news service

ORLANDO — Casey Anthony was sentenced to four years in jail Thursday for lying to investigators, but she will be released July 13 due to credit for time served and good behavior, the court said.

Anthony, 25, was found guilty of four counts of lying to investigators and sentenced to a year in prison for each count. She was also fined $1,000 on each count.

Judge Belvin Perry, while giving her the maximum sentence, said Anthony would be able to get out early because she has already served nearly three years in jail and has had good behavior.

While acquitted of the most serious charges, including the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, Anthony was found guilty of lying to detectives trying to find her daughter in July 2008.

She lied to them about working at the Universal Studios theme park, about leaving her daughter with a non-existent nanny named Zanny, about leaving the girl with friends and about receiving a phone call from her.

Her defense attorneys argued before sentencing that her convictions should be combined into one, but the judge disagreed.