Casey Anthony Latest News: Trial Prompts Maine Bill on Missing Child Reports
The case of missing 2-year-old Caylee Anthony caused a nationwide uproar and has led one state to implement a new measure that would protect missing children.
The new legislation, proposed by Maine, will be decided upon in May of next year. If approved, the measure would make the failure to report a missing child within 24 hours a felony.
Casey Anthony, mother of Caylee, did not report her daughter missing until July 15 – 31 days after Casey claimed her daughter went missing. Anthony finally reported her daughter missing only after her mother made a 911 phone call due to suspicions over the whereabouts of the little girl.
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In the following days after Anthony reported Caylee missing, she gave false statements to law enforcement, lied about a nanny that she never had, and it was discovered that she had been partying in the days following her daughter’s disappearance.
Nevertheless, in a widely publicized 2011 murder trial, Anthony, 25, was ultimately acquitted of the charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of her daughter.
Many across America have condemned the jury’s decision to acquit Anthony of the murder.
One juror named Jennifer Ford told CNN in July that she received hate mail following the verdict but said, "There was not enough to make anything stick. Obviously it has not been proven that she is innocent, but it certainly hasn't been proven that she is guilty."
The same juror reportedly told ABC News that the jurors in the case were sick to their stomachs over the decision.
