ORLANDO – As soon as Kris R. Woodson got the news release, she knew she had to jump on it. She was instantly on the phone, and – … then it happened. Success. To say Woodson is now absolutely thrilled might be an understatement.
“It will be his first public speaking appearance in Orlando since his book came out,” she said.
Woodson is the program and promotions development manager for the Orlando Public Library, and she’s referring to the decision by former assistant state attorney Jeff Ashton to make an appearance at the library on Monday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.
He’ll be there as part of the library’s ongoing program to host local authors, and in this case, Ashton will be there to discuss his well publicized book — about an equally high profile case that he prosecuted.
His book is entitled, “Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony,” and Ashton will be at the library on Nov. 21 to talk about it.
The book will be released a week earlier, on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
“I had seen that he had a book coming out, and had reached out to his publicist and people at the publishing company,” Woodson said. “I inquired about his ability to talk here, and he agreed.”
Ashton’s book, which he co-authored with Lisa Pulitzer, will be sold on Amazon.com for $17.81 in hardcover.
The jacket notes that the book is “filled with explosive new information” and promises to be “the definitive inside story of the case that captivated the nation and the verdict that no one saw coming … Providing an inside account of the case, Ashton, a career prosecutor for the state of Florida, goes where the press and pundits have only speculated, detailing what really happened during the investigation, showing how the prosecution built their case, and explaining how a woman so shrouded in suspicion was proclaimed innocent.”

Woodson said she fully expects a strong audience to turn out for this event.
“He’s going to be here to talk about his book, and he will be here for 45 minutes,” Woodson said, adding that there would be a question and answer session afterwards.
It’s also going to be an opportunity for the library’s patrons to buy the book, she added.
“The Friends of the Library will have copies of the book for sale,” Woodson said.
Casey Anthony was tried for the first degree murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee, but she was acquitted this past summer. She was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to police officers.
The trial lasted six weeks, from May to July this year, and the prosecution – headed by Ashton – had initially sought the death penalty in this case. On July 5, the jury found Casey not guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child. With credit for time served, she was released from the Orange County jail on July 17.
When the verdict was announced, it was met with a wave of public outrage. Anthony has been the subject of death threats ever since, as were the jurors.
Ashton’s is one of numerous books written about the Anthony case. Other titles include “Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony: A Psychological Portrait” by Keith Ablow, “Outrage! The Casey Anthony Story” by Steve Helling, “Mommy’s Little Girl: Casey Anthony and her Daughter Caylee’s Tragic Fate” by Diane Fanning, and “Casey Anthony – What REALLY Happened to Caylee and Why Truth Matters” by Wendy Murphy.

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