Caylee's Law is the unofficial name for proposed bills in several U.S. states that would make it a felony for a parent or legal guardian to fail to report a missing child, in cases where the parent knew or should have known that the child was possibly in danger.[1] The bill was introduced shortly after the high profile Casey Anthony trial, due to Anthony not reporting her two year old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony missing for a period of 31 days.[2]
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The idea for the bill originated with protesters who disagreed with the jury's verdict in the case. Anthony was found not guilty of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child on July 5, 2011.[3] Immediately after the trial, support appeared for imposing requirements on parents to notify law enforcement of the death or disappearance of a child and make a parent or guardian's failure to report their child missing a felony.[4][5] One petition has gained over 1,261,130 electronic signatures as of July 19, 2011.[6] In response to this and other petitions, lawmakers of Florida, Oklahoma, New York, North Carolina, Ohio[7] and West Virginia began drafting versions of "Caylee's Law".
In Oklahoma a representative is planning on proposing a bill in 2012 that would require a child's parent or guardian to notify police of a child's death within 24 hours, and would also stipulate a time frame for notification of the disappearance of a young child.[4]
The bill in Florida was introduced by two Miami representatives on July 6, 2011 and would make it a felony if a parent or legal guardian fails to report a missing child under the age of 12 in timely manner if they could have known the child would be in danger.[8][9]
Some oppose Caylee's Law, claiming it to be unconstitutional. Many claim it violates the 5th Amendment and will mostly harm innocent parents. The laws as proposed do not distinguish the cause or place of death, so that parents who lose children due to sudden illnesses in the hospital are still liable to report the death within 24 hours to the local police or face felony charges in addition to the sudden tragic loss of their children.[10]