Caylee's Law Report

The acquittal of Casey Anthony in the murder trial over daughter Caylee led to public outrage and demand for legislative change. The real catalyst of the outrage and public damnation was Casey’s failure to report two-year old Caylee missing for 31 days. This high profile case resulted in new state legislation, spurred by constituent demands and online petitions, which has taken the name of “Caylee’s Law.” The various state legislation consists of some combination of three parts: criminalization of a failure to report a missing a child, criminalization of a failure to report a dead child, and increased penalties for providing false reports to police regarding a missing child. While this new legislation is controversial to some, it may prove beneficial in states’ efforts to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children.