Casey Anthony
© ReutersCasey Anthony (C) smiles at Defense Counsel Cheney Mason and Dorothy Clay Sims, before her sentencing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, July 7, 2011.
Casey Anthony walked free from a Florida jail at midnight Sunday, three years and one day after she was first arrested for her role in the disappearance and, eventually, death of her 2-year-old daughter, Calyee.

Throngs of media and a handful of demonstrators were at hand outside the Orange County jail to witness the release.

Most of those who waved placards in the jail parking lot were there to voice their opposition to Anthony's release.

She did have some support. One man held a sign that read, "Casey, Will You Marry Me," while earlier someone else had a sign that said: "She's not guilty. Get over it."

Anthony was acquitted by a jury on July 5 of culpability in Caylee's death. Since then, her future has been the subject of much speculation, but with no publicly known facts beyond her jail departure date.

Her safety is no small matter. The trial revealed gruesome details of Caylee's death and the disposal of the remains in trash bags in swampy woods. There was also plenty of evidence of Casey relishing her life, partying and shopping, after Caylee died.

She has already received several death threats.

Last week Sammay Blackwell, an Oklahoma woman who was violently attacked for bearing a resemblance to Caylee Anthony's mother.