A bill inspired by the Casey Anthony trial received approval from the Governor Friday. As Sascha Cordner reports, the sponsor of “Caylee’s Law” says he’s happy there will now be increased penalties for people who lie to law enforcement during a missing child investigation.
When Orlando mother Casey Anthony lied to law enforcement officers during the investigation of her missing two-year-old Caylee Anthony, it got the attention of Republican Representative Jose Diaz. He remembers getting emotional on the floor as he talked about what this legislation meant to him.
“It’s difficult not to get emotional as the parent of a young child and my wife is actually pregnant with our second child, which is actually due next month, and to imagine that this parent knew that her child had passed away and impeded the investigation of her child’s death, it’s something that gave me pause when I first decided to embark on this journey of sponsoring the bill.”
Diaz’s bill converts the crime of lying to officers from a misdemeanor into a felony. So, in the case of Casey Anthony, she would have served a 20-year sentence, instead of receiving only four years of punishment.
