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Anthony case outcome sparks calls for Caylee's laws

Caylee Anthony
Caylee Anthony

By James Call

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-976852.mp3

Tallahassee, FL – Florida lawmakers are lining up to file bills in response to the highly publicized Casey Anthony trial. The Orlando resident's acquittal on murder charges surprised many. Now James Call reports, three Legislators have announced they have or will file a Caylee's Law bill.

Two year old Caylee Anthony was missing for 31 days before her police were called to find her. Her body was discovered in a wooded area months later. Tuesday her mother was found not guilty of murdering her. The verdict surprised many who questioned why the mother waited so long to notify anyone about her missing daughter.

By Thursday, Representatives Jose Felix Diaz n had filed a bill making it a felony not to timely report a missing child, Rep Bill Hager announced plans for a similar measure and Senator Greg Evers said he wants to discuss a proposal during a September meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee.

The House bill would make it a felony for a parent to not report a child missing after a 48-hour period. It also makes it a felony to not report a child's death or "location of a child's corpse" to police within two hours of the death.