Opinion: Caylee Anthony laws introduced in California

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Caylee Anthony’s death has inspired measures around the country aimed to punish parents and guardians who do not quickly contact law enforcement when a child has disappeared or is found dead.

Two new bills were introduced in California Friday, and had they existed in Florida where Caylee died, her mother Casey Anthony would probably now be facing a jail sentence of about 15 years.

Instead, Casey, who did not report Caylee being missing for over a month and was later acquitted of murder, will be a free woman this weekend.

L.A. Now reports that ‘Caylee’s Law’, AB 1432, introduced by Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell (D-Culver City), would make it a felony in California to fail to report the death or disappearance of a child, age 14 or younger, to law enforcement authorities within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, three other Assembly members announced they would introduce a bill that would make it a felony for a parent or guardian to fail to report the death of a child to authorities within two hours.

Nebraska recently joined Florida and Maryland in considering similar legislation.

Nebraska state Sen. Pete Pirsch announced Thursday that he will introduce a version of ‘Caylee’s Law’ in Nebraska during their next legislative session.

More than 1 million people have signed an online petition to encourage such laws to be drawn up.

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-- Tony Pierce
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Andrew Malcolm is on vacation through Tuesday.

Casey Anthony and her attorney Jose Baez react as the verdict is read July 5, 2011. Credit: Getty Images