Yesterday afternoon, word leaked out of Orlando Florida that prosecutors in the Casey Anthony murder case have put the death penalty back on the table. It had previously been removed, but the state’s position now is that “sufficient aggravating circumstances now exist” for the death penalty. In a change of heart, lead prosecutor, Linda Drane Burdick, of the state attorney’s office, filed a letter of intent to seek the death penalty for Casey.

The death penalty’s return as a possible sentence for Casey’s murder of her toddler Caylee, means that her current lead counsel, Jose Baez, will not be able to try the case. Death penalty cases have strict trial experience requirements for defense attorneys that Baez does not meet.

Casey still has a high-powered defense team whose funding is still a mystery. They’ve filed a motion to subpoena cell phone records from George, Cindy and Lee Anthony, meter reader Roy Kronk, who found Caylee’s remains, all of Casey’s past lovers (a considerable number), and from her former friends. The return of the death penalty option increases the chances that Casey may plea down to recieve a life imprisonment sentence if she’s convicted.