'Caylee's Law' Petition Goes Viral, Aims To Make Not Reporting A Missing Child A Crime

"Caylee's Law" has already gained over 330,000 signatures on Change.org.

The petition, which was created by Michelle Crowder of Oklahoma, aims to make not notifying police of a missing child a crime. According to USA Today, it also calls for strict penalties when parents do not quickly report the death of a child.

The call for the law comes in the wake of Tuesday's verdict in the Casey Anthony trial, in which the young mother did not report her child missing for some time.

From USA Today:

"Caylee's Law" would make it a felony for parents or caregivers to not report the death of a child to authorities -- accidental or otherwise -- within one hour. It also would make it a felony for guardians to not notify law enforcement of the disappearance of a child within 24 hours.

The petition has quickly gone viral, garnering hundreds of thousands of online signatures in less than 48 hours.

The brief description from the Change.org posting:

Caylee's Law, contact your Senator and Representative: there should be a new federal law created called Caylee's Law that will make it a federal offense for a parent or guardian to not notify law enforcement of a child going missing in a timely manner.

Let's keep another case like Caylee Anthony out of the courts.

You can read the full petition letter here.

However, the potential law, which is aimed at President Obama and Congress, may not be constitutional on a federal level according to the Wall Street Journal. It seems criminal laws such as these tend to fall under state jurisdiction.

But "Caylee's Law" may at least come to fruition in Oklahoma. Reuters has reported that Oklahoma state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft plans to introduce the law during the 2012 legislative session. Wesselhoft apparently aims for a maximum misdemeanor or a felony conviction for a violation of the law if it is passed.

Update: Lawmakers from four states, including Oklahoma, have proposed versions of "Caylee's law", ABC News reports:

"Wesselhoft, a Republican, plans to propose a law at the start of Oklahoma's legislative session in 2012 that would make it a felony for a parent of guardian not to notify authorities within 24 hours of a child's death. He also plans to propose a requirement for parents to notify runaways under the age of 12 in a timely manner, although he admits having a time table for that is "more difficult because you don't know when the clock starts," he said.

UPDATE: The petition has now been signed by over 460,000 people, and is nearing its 500,000 signature goal.

Comments

[Wizard0104]

01:52 AM on 07/17/2011

Well i guess when you do something wrong or your responsible for something real bad the best way is to hide it or say nothing.

[guitarwizard55]

11:34 AM on 07/16/2011

I saw an episode of the Caylee trial 40 years ago it was called Gunsmoke. The town wanted to hang a person who was found innocent. We have a system in this country and if we don't go by it thats what we are a bunch of angry towns people carrying torchs.

[Alistair Graham]

08:32 AM on 07/16/2011

Viral Video: New Hip-Hop Song "Caylee's Law" by CityBoi Ft. Shawn Isaac http://bit.ly/qcdJW7 Caylee Anthony. It's amazing to see what people are doing to help support Caylee's Law - We are excited to announce a new viral hip-hop video to help promote Caylee's Law - Please enjoy the video and share it with those around you that can help promote this amazing cause. Thank You

[lestergrovecity]

12:26 PM on 07/12/2011

THIS WAS JUST A LATE TERM ABORTION, YOU LIBERALS SHOULD BE HAPPY.

[GreatBirdUSA]

11:06 AM on 07/16/2011

Please, that's over the line buddy.
I support right to life but your comment was not called for...

[TheInsomniac]

10:09 PM on 07/10/2011

What a waste of time and energy. And why am I not surprised that a Republican is the sponsor of yet another meaningless and useless piece of legislation that is built around an emotional reaction to an issue that really will never, ever affect 99.99% of Americans (if that few). I'll never understand the inability of people to focus on things that actually matter to their well-being, like gun laws, or chemicals in the water supply.

[Patriot86]

10:42 AM on 07/12/2011

The GOP is just an emotional wreck of a party.

[lestergrovecity]

12:22 PM on 07/12/2011

WHOEVER USES THESE ISSUES TO TALK ABOUT POLITICAL PARTIES ISN'T WORTH LISTENING TO IN THE FIRST PLACE, ALSO WE HAVE PLENTY OF GUN LAWS FOR LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AS IT IS.

[LazyJurors]

12:05 AM on 07/10/2011

It is now almost 1 million! Keep them coming!

[Exhaust]

12:19 AM on 07/12/2011

Yeah...this will be a list of who the really dumb ones are.

[guitarwizard55]

11:29 AM on 07/16/2011

Its very hard to support a law for Caylee when there just was a young boy murdered in New York and no one I mean no one could give a hoot. Don't get me wrong Caylee matters but because the media chose to pick this crime everyone jumping on the bandwagon. What about the young boy who was beat and starved to death a few weeks ago. Get off the Caylee track and make a difference for all the these kids

[Tamatha Hooper]

11:16 PM on 07/09/2011

I can't get past the Not Guilty Verdict! I need to feel as if I can make a difference in some way to insure that this doesn't happen again. Can someone guide me? Give me some pointers? How can I, in the state of Tennessee, be a part off this Law for Caylee?
I also really feel as if the jury wasn't watching what I was. This is mind blowing.

[Patriot86]

10:42 AM on 07/12/2011

Of course the jury was not watching what you were....and you did not see what they saw...the prosecuter is to blame here and no law can change that.

[ann meredith]

05:19 PM on 07/09/2011

Why I support Caylee's Laws

Check out my blog where I explain how my own missing child scare caused me to react within 30 minutes and call the police. I don't think the jury placed enough emphasis on Ms. Anthony's innaction after her child went missing. I think we need Caylee's laws to help people (and jurors) realize that when parents don't act they are acting unnatural and suspicious, and need to be penalized. www.annmeredith.net for my article

[RDenning]

10:28 AM on 07/11/2011

Lets make being unnatural and suspicious a crime.

[susanlno]

10:42 AM on 07/11/2011

Right on! The obvious solution to crime in our country is to make new laws tailored to address specific cases that are already over, then watch these well intentioned but not well thought out laws catch in their over-large nets all kinds of people who shouldn't be charged with crimes.

[BlueMoods]

05:10 PM on 07/09/2011

Here's the Florida "Caylee's Law" bill sponsored by Reps Scott Plakon and Jose Diaz:

http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0037__.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0037&Session=2012

[Buck Buckster]

12:57 PM on 07/09/2011

Recent article about Casey confessing is pretty funny.

http://satireworld.com/us-news-headlines/201107050642/tot-mom-casey-anthony-confesses-offers-full-explanation-of-tragedy/

[Frout]

11:40 AM on 07/09/2011

I think there should be a law that states Jurors cannot make money off of a case. The next day they had agents, some who are demanding 5 figures to talk. At this point, we should all boycott any interviews that have anything to do about the case. If someone goes to hire her boycott everything they do. She should not make any money off of this. She is a destroyer and I would not be suprised if she does not wind up with criminal charges in her future. I hope her attorneys have security when they are done with her and she is no longer the center of their attention. I hope the jurors look at what we saw, looking intentey at all the graphic images and commenting to her lawyers, but looking away in horror when the jury was there. I don't condem them for their verdict, I do condem them for not even taking the time to understand the charges. Which is apparent by what they have said. This was a complicated case and the fact the majority did not take notes tells me they already had a verdict, not guilty where is the book deal!

[RDenning]

10:29 AM on 07/11/2011

I hope her attorneys have security when they are done with her and she is no longer the center of their attention.

Why? They did their job.

[profideous man]

10:53 AM on 07/11/2011

Umm. . . why do you think the jury did NOT look at everything we've seen? Everything we've seen is a fraction of the total evidence presented at trial. If anything, the jury was privy to information the American public was not. So who was in a better position to determine the facts of the case? The jury who had all the evidence before them, or the American people who had some of the evidence - but not all of it - before them spun out by the gesticulating newsmedia?

[wrascil]

11:35 AM on 07/09/2011

this really demonstrates the true ignorance of America that people and lawmakers have the self serving need to regulate common since the true breakdown was the malicious over prosecution in a merit less case that if I had 2 hours in a Florida law library I could have found 10 or more charges that would have brought conviction, if the district attorney and police would have spent as much time doing their JOB as they spent perpetuating themselves in front of the media they could have gotten a conviction... but why? Every time a woman murders her kids they claim post partial depression or something and get off anyway... I am sorry this would just be another stupid law we do not really need in a country overburden with laws. get over it and do your JOB next time

[RDenning]

10:33 AM on 07/11/2011

Every time a woman murders her kids they claim post partial depression or something and get off anyway..

Stop reading sensational crime reporting and spend some time reading cases. What you say is untrue. Most people who are charged with murder are convicted. Paula Yates conviction was overturned after years of her imprisonment but she was psychotic. Should we punish people who don't understand what they are doing?

[Apolinar De Anda]

11:11 PM on 07/13/2011

Yes, to the last question. If they don't understand the wrong they did, then they will not understand the punishment they are receiving.

[IvyShoots]

11:26 AM on 07/09/2011

So say a child is kidnapped for ransom, and the kidnapper tells the parents, "Don't call the cops or I'll kill her," they could be prosecuted for complying, out of fear that not following instructions could cost their child her life?

[IvyShoots]

11:05 AM on 07/09/2011

I have a better idea: pass a law making it illegal for a DA to bring a half-baked case to trial because he's so sure he can try it in the court of public opinion that he can make a jury convict on emotion rather than EVIDENCE.

[ravenshroud]

06:34 PM on 07/09/2011

Exactly.

[bobbievincent]

09:54 AM on 07/09/2011

Let us, at minimum, do nothing to make Casey Anthony rich. The more this is discussed, the more attention is drawn to Casey. If you watch interviews, read her (or her family's) books, if you buy a magazine with articles about her.... you will make her filthy rich !! I wish all the media would STOP because they are drawing so much attention to her that everyone will want to pay Casey for an interview. This is the least we can do for Caylee Marie.

[gemmax]

11:04 AM on 07/09/2011

You are obviously morally correct. Not only that, IMO the less attention paid to her, the more likely she is to seek it and I honestly believe that she will one day tell the truth.

[Tamatha Hooper]

11:19 PM on 07/09/2011

How would anyone know when this Liar told the truth? Perhaps a video tape of the murder!

[RDenning]

10:35 AM on 07/11/2011

Or she could write a book like OJ. If I Had Done It, This Is How.

[IvyShoots]

11:11 AM on 07/09/2011

Ms Anthony owes the people of the State of Florida thousands of dollars. Any effort to hinder her ability to earn money punishes the taxpayers of that state. The DA already cost them plenty by putting on that dreck "prosecution." I don't really understand the lack of anger at Mr ASHTON for squandering the state's resources; he blew its one and only chance to convict her.

[000005]

12:25 AM on 07/11/2011

Shut up.

[Apolinar De Anda]

11:20 PM on 07/13/2011

Please tell my you are kidding. She was found not guilty by her peers. What part of innocent until proven guilty do you not understand? Furhtermore we live in a free country. If she or anyone else (private citizens) want to make money on this so be it. All you have to do is not buy anything asociated with them. Thats what I do with anything that I become aware to be associated with the left.