NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > News > Casey Anthony’s neglect ignites support for ‘Caylee's Law’

Casey Anthony’s neglect ignites support for ‘Caylee's Law’

New bill proposes misdemeanor if missing child isn’t reported within a short period of time

JORDANA KOZUPSKY,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, July 9, 2011, 8:22 AM

Updated Saturday, July 9, 2011, 8:22 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

15 Comments

Caylee Anthony

A new law aimed at making it a felony not to call police if a child is missing for any period of time may be passed in the Florida legislature.

It is a response to the fact that what shocks people most about the tragic case of Casey and Caylee Anthony is that Casey failed to report her daughter missing for 31 days.

Casey, who was charged with first degree murder and aggravated child abuse, was “sentenced to four consecutive years in jail for counts of lying to law enforcement officers,” according to the Santa Rosa’s Press Gazette. Once Caylee’s body was discovered, there had been too much damage done to it to determine the cause of death.

---------------------
READ MORE:

Casey Anthony to be released from prison next Wednesday - VIDEO

Casey Anthony wants to adopt an Irish baby 'accent and all'

Casey Anthony was found not guilty -- get over it folks and respect the jury
---------------------

The Gazette reported that the two sponsors of the bill, Representative Doug Broxson and State Representative Clay Ford, were “outraged” by the fact that “the law was not on the law books already.” The new law would make it a felony to report the either the death or abduction of a child within a certain, short period of time. The law will be called “Caylee’s Law.”

As Broxson said, “It is a shame that we have to pass laws to encourage basic parental care.”

However, this isn’t the first time that such a law has been passed in order to protect helpless children. The AMBER Alert (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) was originally named after Amber Hagerman, a 9 year old who was kidnapped and murdered in Texas in 1996. The system works by airing a bulletin of the child missing and has been implemented across several countries.

The bill was written by Representative Bill Hager and Representative Clay Ingram. It will be considered for the 2012 legislative session, which begins in January.

Nster.com

E-mail

15 Comments

See all comments

maloney | Jul 11, 2011, 09:38 PM EDT

Leave the "we" out next time. The problem with tha Anthony jury was to many women and PWed men. The prosecution twice wanted one woman rejected from the jury. The judge kept her anyway. There is no need for any changes to the laws, the state of the American people is the problem. SHEEPLE

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Jul 11, 2011, 07:32 PM EDT

Merely making a point ,Got a problem with that?

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Jul 10, 2011, 07:35 PM EDT

snapshot!! we will change the constitution just to suit you and then change it back when it does'nt.

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Jul 10, 2011, 07:33 PM EDT

wjb1tex email IC and they will reinstate your blog could be an error they may think you are advertising goods as sometimes happens on IC.

Report abuse

wjb1tex | Jul 09, 2011, 09:39 PM EDT

Still not accepting comments that don't fit into your idea of PC I see.

Report abuse

Irishphotograph | Jul 09, 2011, 08:56 PM EDT

innocent*

Report abuse

Irishphotograph | Jul 09, 2011, 08:56 PM EDT

she should been charged as guilty until she could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she is innocoent.

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Jul 09, 2011, 07:18 PM EDT

The jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" because the prosecution failed to prove beyond a "reasonable doubt" that she was guilty. The jury had no other options under the circumstanes.

Report abuse

wjb1tex | Jul 09, 2011, 05:04 PM EDT

I posted what I think twice and it never appeared. Was there something wrong with my opinion ?

Report abuse

wjb1tex | Jul 09, 2011, 03:45 PM EDT

Don't know what happened to my previous post but I'll try again. It was the prosecution who failed. First of all the went for a home run charging murder, manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse along with the lies to the police. They did not have the evidence for murder or manslaughter. They don't know how the chid died, where she died, when she died, or who was present when she died. There is no evidence of aggravated child abuse if you can't prove either of the other charges. Nothing to show she abused the child. If they had gone for child endangerment that would be a slam dunk just by the non reporting of the child missing. They left the jury with nothing to convict on except the lies. The people who say the jury was wrong did not hear all the testemony or hear the Judge's explanations and directions to the jury. I think th jury was right as much as I hate the result. I believe the mother did it or knows who did. Terrible work by the prosecution and maybe the police too.

Report abuse

Nicomax | Jul 09, 2011, 01:36 PM EDT

The difference with the Amber Alert Law is that her missing was reported immediately, and then the subsequent law created a system whereby such reports in the future would be widely announced throughout a broad geographical area. This mess of a family in Orlando, and particularly the brain-dead mother, failed, for whatever reason, to report her missing. Since she lied about it to police, and was sentenced to 4 years, she should complete the full term. What 'good behavior' now could possibly offset her stunningly bad behavior for 31 days.

Report abuse

JeffGallagher | Jul 09, 2011, 01:30 PM EDT

Another kneejerk reaction to something people don't like. Ticked off because the American justice system didn't have the expected outcome? Make a new law. Oh, and to make it an emotional issue, let's make it personal by calling it "caylee's law" The laws were on the books that could have brought this murderer to justice. As wjb1tex said, the prosecution failed in their job. The police failed in their job. Or, could it be, that there just wasn't enough evidence to convict this person in a courtroom? There are thousands of cold cases out there, including ones more heinous than this, that have not been solved. They haven't been solved because there is not enough evidence. I'm sorry, but that is the plain truth. This woman got away with it because our justice system rightfully demands that there be no doubt as to guilt. That said, I hope Anthony trips in the street in front of a speeding car. Now, that will be justice.

Report abuse

wjb1tex | Jul 09, 2011, 11:40 AM EDT

The prosecution is at fault. Not the jury. They went for a home run charging murder, manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse, along with the lying to police. They had no evidence. Child endangerment could have easily been proved just by the non reporting of the child missing. But aggravated assault? There was absolutely no evidence of that other than speculation that she murdered the child. The people who say the jury was wrong did not hear all the testemony or hear the Judges explanations and orders to the jury. The duct tape seemed to be the thing the prosecution was pushing the most. But there was no evidence as to how it got there or who put it there.They did not show where the child died, what she died of, who was present when she died or when she died. One wonders why the investigation did not come up with more evidence and why the prosecution did not give the jury a chance at conviction for something less than the charges they brought considering their lack of evidence. Fot the record I think the mother did it or knows who did. But I think the jury was correct in the ruling. Much as I hate it.

Report abuse

soapyrub | Jul 09, 2011, 09:13 AM EDT

Given that there were 3 choices in charging Casey, and that the jury let her off scott free, it makes no sense to any intelligent person. P.T. Barnum was right: "a sucker born every minute" - these jurors believed anything the defence threw against the wall. like children believing in the tooth fairy. Casey is the perfect liar and an amazing scam artist that got the better of these very gullible jurors. By every measure, this was a miscarriage of justice.

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Jul 09, 2011, 08:52 AM EDT

Every time I look at this little girl my heart sinks and I think of all the people who would have loved to have her. What kind of demonic animal throws a little child's body into a swamp?

Report abuse