Simpson said she questioned whether Woodward's supporters were motivated by genuine concern for her.
"No one cared about Louise Woodward when she was initially charged with this crime," she said. "Where were they 200 days ago?"
Elise S. Jang '97-'98 also said the case was influenced by the press.
"I don't think the judge would have overturned [the verdict] if there was no media attention, if there was no pressure," she said.
But others defended the media's interest in Woodward's case.
"I think it shows a very important potential flaw in the justice system, that people can get a murder conviction without definitely committing a murder," Jesse L. Margolis '99 said.
Margolis pointed to a Massachusetts legislator's decision to vote against the death penalty, made in part because he doubted Woodward's guilt, as proof of the case's enormous effect on other legal issues.
Tim T. Daub '01 said he was not surprised that the case attracted such publicity.
"It's always a good ploy in horror movies that the nanny does evil--she's a trusted figure," he said. "It's just shocking But Daub said that, like a lot of his friends, he had not followed the case despite the national coverage. "I called my mother and she said everything on the news was 'Cambridge, Cambridge with the nanny case,'" he said. For two Harvard affiliates involved in the case, the verdict proved a mixed blessing. "I am very pleased with the judge's decision, although I think it probably should have gone further," Dershowitz said. "Under the legal principles of reasonable doubt, there was reasonable doubt about her guilt in this case." When asked about Woodward's plans to appeal her conviction, he said: "If you're absolutely innocent, you don't accept a guilty verdict of manslaughter." Silverglate and Woodward's defense lawyers plan to appeal to secure a notguilty verdict. Silverglate said: "Given the fact that she's innocent, I would say that the sentence was nine months too long," he said. --Jamie H. Ginott contributed to the reporting of this article.