More than one million Americans sign ‘Caylee’s Law’ petition

American's still seek justice for Caylee Anthony. Photo via Facebook.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — More than one million Americans have digitally signed a petition to demand the creation of a law that would make it a felony for a parent or guardian to not notify law enforcement of a child going missing within 24 hours.

The Change.org campaign began last week and was inspired by the death of Caylee Anthony, a 2-year-old girl whose disappearance in June 2008 attracted national media attention. Her skeletal remains were found in December 2008 after she was reported missing by her grandmother.

Caylee’s mother, Casey, had failed to report her missing and was eventually indicated on charges of first degree murder. But Casey was later found not guilty of murder, although she was convicted on four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.

But the fact that Casey could not be charged for failing to report her daughter missing has outraged some people, leading to a ‘Caylee’s Law’ campaign that would make it a felony in future cases. The petition was signed by 1.1 million people as of Monday morning.

“This is the most positive and productive reaction I have seen to the not guilty verdict of Caylee’s Mother, Casey Anthony. Let’s prevent this from happening to any other children in the future,” said Judi Siciliano, a 58-year-old grandmother of four from Bayville, New Jersey. “In Caylee’s Memory, I choose to sign the petition.”

Tiffany Borders of Columbus, Ohio, signed the Change.org petition and wrote, “I am a mother of 3 beautiful girls, and if for any reason they were gone for even an hour and I didn’t know where they were I would be frantic and call the police, the national guard, the news media, anyone who could help me. I hope this petition changes the law and helps hold parent[s] accountable.”

The campaign’s momentum continues to grow. More than 18 states are now considering a version of Caylee’s Law. Legislators in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia have all announced that they are drafting versions of “Caylee’s Law”, prompted in part by the petition on Change.org.

“It’s remarkable to see how this Change.org petition has had such immediate practical impact in state legislatures across the country,” said Change.org founder Ben Rattray. “It’s a clear demonstration of how Change.org’s online platform enables people to take powerful collective action on the issues that are important to them in everyday life.”

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