Do Not Enact Caylee's Law!

The Issue

For those who are sending the originator of this petition hate mail...please post your comments publicly, if you really feel these are not valid reasons to block this proposed bill.

Caylee's law is not only cruel to grieving parents who have done nothing wrong, it is also a violation of the fifth amendment. The following is an analysis of Caylee's Law, as proposed:

"making it a felony for a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to not notify law enforcement of the death of their child, accidental or otherwise, within 1 hour of said death being discovered."

As written, this would require any parent to notify law enforcement when their child dies...even if it was due to an illness or disease (such as cancer). This is cruel to grieving parents...they just lost their child, and now they're being forced to notify law enforcement within an hour of their child dying, or face criminal charges. This section of the proposed law is unconstitutional.A parent forced to report child's death could be considered a violation of the fifth amendment, in that if the parent was responsible for that death, they are effectively testifying against him/herself by providing the time of death.

"make it a felony for a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to not notify law enforcement of the disappearance of a child within 24 hours, so proper steps can be taken to find that child before it's too late."

Once again, this is unconstitutional. If the parent/etc is the one responsible for the child's disappearance, and forced to report the child's disappearance, this is a violation of the fifth amendment.

In the end, this proposed law which is currently being petitioned online should not be brought before congress or enacted.

Other points against Caylee's Law:

* Unless you're a doctor, you can't pronounce someone dead.  How can you comply with the law if you aren't able to pronounce a person dead?

* If a guilty parent would report a child's death in accordance with the law, the fact that the law requires the parent to violate the 5th amendment, there's a very strong possibility the case would be thrown out completely.

* If a parent finds a child they believe is unconcious, and do not realize the child is dead, they would not report the child as dead to law enforcement. Because you failed to report that the child was actually dead, you still broke the law, even if you did not know the child was dead.

* This law does not prevent anything! A parent who is going to kill their own child will not report it.

* Ultimately, this law will only put innocent parents in jail, while doing nothing to deter guilty ones from breaking the law.

avatar of the starter
Removed For PrivacyPetition StarterMy information has been removed for privacy reasons. I know that my petition will be controversial, and I do not wish for those seeking "vigilante justice" to seek me out.
This petition had 70 supporters

The Issue

For those who are sending the originator of this petition hate mail...please post your comments publicly, if you really feel these are not valid reasons to block this proposed bill.

Caylee's law is not only cruel to grieving parents who have done nothing wrong, it is also a violation of the fifth amendment. The following is an analysis of Caylee's Law, as proposed:

"making it a felony for a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to not notify law enforcement of the death of their child, accidental or otherwise, within 1 hour of said death being discovered."

As written, this would require any parent to notify law enforcement when their child dies...even if it was due to an illness or disease (such as cancer). This is cruel to grieving parents...they just lost their child, and now they're being forced to notify law enforcement within an hour of their child dying, or face criminal charges. This section of the proposed law is unconstitutional.A parent forced to report child's death could be considered a violation of the fifth amendment, in that if the parent was responsible for that death, they are effectively testifying against him/herself by providing the time of death.

"make it a felony for a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to not notify law enforcement of the disappearance of a child within 24 hours, so proper steps can be taken to find that child before it's too late."

Once again, this is unconstitutional. If the parent/etc is the one responsible for the child's disappearance, and forced to report the child's disappearance, this is a violation of the fifth amendment.

In the end, this proposed law which is currently being petitioned online should not be brought before congress or enacted.

Other points against Caylee's Law:

* Unless you're a doctor, you can't pronounce someone dead.  How can you comply with the law if you aren't able to pronounce a person dead?

* If a guilty parent would report a child's death in accordance with the law, the fact that the law requires the parent to violate the 5th amendment, there's a very strong possibility the case would be thrown out completely.

* If a parent finds a child they believe is unconcious, and do not realize the child is dead, they would not report the child as dead to law enforcement. Because you failed to report that the child was actually dead, you still broke the law, even if you did not know the child was dead.

* This law does not prevent anything! A parent who is going to kill their own child will not report it.

* Ultimately, this law will only put innocent parents in jail, while doing nothing to deter guilty ones from breaking the law.

avatar of the starter
Removed For PrivacyPetition StarterMy information has been removed for privacy reasons. I know that my petition will be controversial, and I do not wish for those seeking "vigilante justice" to seek me out.

The Decision Makers

President of the United States
President of the United States
All Legislatures of the United States
All Legislatures of the United States
All Governors of the United States
All Governors of the United States

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Petition created on July 6, 2011