Earlier this week I wrote the piece, Caylee’s Law: Is Justice Served?. The article asks the question; As many across the country were outraged at the “not guilty” verdict of Casey Anthony, is the question for justice for Caylee now to be served via increased legislation? Casey Anthony, a young mother from Orlando, Florida, was on trial for the murder of her two year-old daughter, Caylee. The murder trial of any child is sure to gain media frenzy, however the his case was particularly heated as by the incomprehension that a parent could have possibly murdered their child. The debate over Anthony’s guilt was only intensified by the fact that she did not report her daughter missing, for she was not reported missing for 31 days until her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, notified authorities. Caylee’s body was uncovered near her home in a wooded area on December 11, 2008.
While a massive public outcry over the “not guilty” verdict passed on Casey Anthony was hard to ignore, there are now concerns that many are jumping the legislative gun so to speak out of heart-tugging emotion based on the tragic case of one child. True, while the law would ensure that parents who are truly neglectful in reporting their child missing or accurately reporting on their child’s death, would be given harsher sentences to send a message that individual U.S. states will not tolerate such abuses of our children. However many believe the proposed law could do more harm than good in the long-run, it doesn’t take into account what may be legitimate reasons for a reporting delay. Additionally the law does not place considerations on any scientific questions regarding a child’s time of death. Therefore the question is raised regarding Caylee’s law being too much of an emotional reaction, which has left some with fears that some missing child cases may fall through the cracks as they get lost in a see of call from every panicked parent who is afraid if they do not file a report they will be charged with a felony. Additonally many legislators may pass the law with a biased fear that they would seem heartless not to pass such a sentive law, let alone one with the name of a small child attached to it.
Nonetheless while the media continues to cover the Casey Anthony, the issues sourounding child abuse and related deaths of other children in the United States has remained tragecily silent. Thankfully theU.S. government is now working to put forth recommendations on the prevention of child abuse and neglect, as well as reducing the number of related deaths. On 12 July 2011, a congressional hearing on coincided with the release of a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Child Maltreatment: Strengthening National Data on Child Fatalities Could Aid Prevention. The hearing called upon on national experts to explain why the number of child deaths, especially within the child welfare system, have been underrepresented. According to the report, and testomony, methods to tally and analyze the deaths of children who have been abused or maltreated are seriously flawed, and the latest annual is significanly low. The National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths (NCECAD) and others, state that the number of children whose deaths are related to abuse and maltreatment each year is understated by some 55% to 75%, and that the 1,700 reported in 2009 is closer to some 2,500 related deaths.
Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Geoff Davis (R-KY) opened the hearing with remarks about the “transience of hype” that comes with high profile child abuse cases. He challenged committee members and the hearing speakers to consider gaps, but also to identify ways that better information in the system can help caregivers prevent future tragedies.