Posted on 07/17/2011 9:37:16 AM PDT by Kaslin
It was once suggested, as a general rule of staying alive, never to fly on an airline named after a state or the owner. As a general rule of sound government, it's also a good idea never to enact a law named after a person. Personalizing criminal law usually stems from fruitless outrage at a freakish event.
Plenty of legislators are ignoring that risk. Their proposals, all going by the name "Caylee's Law," are an understandable response to the acquittal of Casey Anthony of killing her 2-year-old daughter. Swearing when you stub your toe is also understandable, which doesn't mean it will do your toe the slightest good.
It remains an open question whether Anthony committed murder, but even if she didn't, she was guilty of shocking malfeasance. What mother who had nothing to hide would fail to report her toddler missing for 31 days? The sponsors think that alone constitutes criminal neglect.
So in some 20 states, bills have been introduced making it a felony not to report a child's disappearance within a given time -- eight hours, 24 hours or 48 hours. Some would also make it a crime not to report a child's death within one or two hours. If such a law had been in effect in Florida three years ago, Anthony might have gotten a lengthy sentence despite the murder acquittal.
It seems to have gone unnoticed that she did get a lengthy sentence -- one year each on four counts of lying to law enforcement officers, almost all of which (with credit for good behavior) she had already served. Florida can blame itself for leniency on that offense. If she had given her false statements to a federal investigator, Anthony could have incurred five years in prison per lie.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
I understand the point of the article - too many laws on the books and villians will always ignore the laws. But still, if Caylee’s law was in effect at the time of her disappearance (I understand, timewise, that that would have been impossible), Casey would have been prosecuted and possibly convicted of violating that law. And wouldn’t that be a good thing?
If we only had some religion in our lives, some ethics, some moral codes, maybe we wouldn’t need any of these damn laws. Does anyone know if the Anthonys followed any religion? Usually crooks show up in court with giant crosses around their necks but I don’t remember that in this case.
If Florida passes Caylee’s law, I hope the state is also required to report missing foster chilren, who are wards of the state. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,235431,00.html
Casey WAS prosecuted and convicted of violating the law, and served time for it.
“never to fly on an airline named after a state or the owner. “
Reminds me of;
The Grace L. Ferguson Airline (And Storm Door Co.)
As a state legislator once told me “We get the kind of laws we deserve”
You don’t think anyone here recognizes that fact? Tell us something we don’t know.
If she’s guilty of criminal neglect, then charge her with criminal neglect. Use the laws that are already on the books before making new ones. With all the laws that are already there to choose from, there’s most likely something that fits.;
The media is all for these laws since they started the whole stampede to begin with. Laws should only be made with calmness and slow deliberation otherwise you wind up with the mess that we now have.
ML/NJ
If we had a law against brunettes she could have been prosecuted for that...
If we had a law against people named Casey she could have been prosecuted for that too...
If we had a law...
What's the matter with Freepers these days, I thought you all were conservatives, not liberals?!?!
Liberals are the ones always howling about more laws...
And therein lies the problem. She refused to make the authorities aware that the child was missing, lied about it and still was not convicted of count 3 even though she was convicted on the counts 4-7 for her calculated lies to keep the authorities from finding the truth.
As our society continues down this path of defining deviency down, so goes the responsibility for doing the right thing. For those who refuse to do the right thing, the only action for those who disregard responsibility is the law. No society can advance or reasonably exist without it.
Apparently Miss Marmelstein, above, doesn't. What's one more law for Casey to have been convicted of violating, when she already was convicted of four violations?
There’s “misprision of felony” - that’s a three year federal felony, and I’m sure it’s also a felony under Florida law.
Heh.
When I read some of the reactions here regarding Ms. Anthony’s trial and subsequent not guilty verdict (thankfully, here in Germany it was largely unknown), the thought crossed my mind more than once, “And yet some many on FR are so utterly opposed to Sharia Law.”
If an imam had handed down a death penalty in a Sharia Court (a likely outcome, over 80% I’d say), I can’t help but think a lot of folks would’ve been tickled pink (Nancy Grace included).
Make that, “And so many here on FR are so opposed to Sharia Law”.
Pesky typo gremlins.
Oh, I get it; rhetorical. Good on ya.
The writer is full of crap, four years with time off. BS,
I like the idea of something to memorialize Caylee. She was such a precious little girl.
Am not sure this law will work well, however. Parents/guardians can just lie about how long the child has been missing.
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