By Constitution Staff

Many Oklahomans have expressed frustration and outrage over the July acquittal of Casey Anthony in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008. Despite failing to report Caylee's whereabouts for weeks, Casey Anthony only received the sentence of four years for four convictions of lying to authorities. Legislators across the country have pledged to introduce "Caylee's Law" legislation to end what they see as loopholes in current law.

After receiving numerous e-mails and a petition for a law to protect children like Caylee Anthony, state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore) says he plans to introduce legislation during the 2012 legislative session that would require parents or guardians to quickly notify authorities of a missing or dead child. Wesselhoft said he also monitors Facebook closely and has noted the anger and frustration of citizens who feel that justice was not served for Caylee.

"Although jurors may have followed the letter of the law, most people I come across believe Caylee Anthony's mother escaped true justice," Wesselhoft said. "It is unconscionable for a parent to delay notifying the authorities of the death of their child. Most parents would immediately notify authorities if their child had gone missing. Any delay could endanger the life of the child and, in the case of a child's death, make it that much harder to collect evidence. I think the actions of Caylee's mother were reprehensible."

Wesselhoft said he is researching the best way to approach a requirement to contact law enforcement upon the death of a child or if a child has gone missing. "There are currently no statutes addressing these issues," Wesselhoft said. "The intent of my legislation would be to provide a time limit to how long a parent could delay notifying authorities; I would say 24 hours to notify authorities of the death of a child and 48 hours for notification of a missing child under the age of 12. Violation of this law would be a maximum misdemeanor or a felony conviction. Oklahomans do not want to experience a situation such as what occurred in the Caylee Anthony case."

State Rep. Brian Renegar (D-McAlester) also announced plans to file legislation to close what he sees as loopholes in the law that allowed Caylee's mother to escape penalties of child abuse and neglect. "It's unfortunate that we as legislators find gaps in our legal system only when egregious acts occur, such as the tragic circumstances that surrounded the death of Calyee Anthony," said Rep. Renegar. "These oversights are now allowing Caylee's mother to go unpunished for what was without question abhorrent and immoral behavior, which in my opinion warranted additional sanctions of child abuse and neglect."

Renegar said, "Willfully concealing information as to the death of a child merits a much greater punishment than a charge for merely lying to authorities. I plan to strengthen our child abuse and neglect laws so that at least here in Oklahoma, parents such as Casey Anthony are swiftly and duly punished for their actions."

But, Oklahomans for Liberty, a conservative watchdog group, has come out against the proposed "Caylee's Law" on constitutional grounds. "The 5th Amendment protects our right against self-incrimination," said David Tackett, Executive Director of Oklahomans for Liberty. "And the only way Casey Anthony could have been in compliance of "Caylee's Law' , if it was already on the books, would have been to incriminate herself." Tackett continued, "It's akin to writing a law saying that you must report to the police that you committed a murder."

When asked why Tackett was taking a public stand against the proposed "Caylee's Law," he replied, "As a constitutional conservative, I know that the 5th Amendment is part of the same Bill of Rights that protects your right to own a gun, even though thousands of people are killed by guns every year. And if you want people to respect and uphold the 2nd Amendment, then you must yourself respect and uphold the 5th Amendment."

Tackett then went on to discuss the effectiveness of such a law. "Would it have saved Caylee's life? No. Would it have prevented the prosecution from overcharging and bungling the case? No. Would it add another law that more than likely will be used and abused beyond its intended scope? Yes." Tackett continued, "There is a difference between justice and vengeance. Like it or not, Caylee did get justice. Her case was heard and decided by a jury. But what "Caylee's Law' is all about is vengeance. We hate that Casey Anthony got off on the murder charges even though we all believe that she was involved in Caylee's death is some way. Our Constitution isn't about vengeance. It's about justice. And justice means that a few guilty people must go free in order to prevent an innocent person suffering one day in jail."