For those of you who haven't been following the saga of Casey Anthony and her allegedly filicidal ways, good for you. (Actually, too bad for you. Because, murder of a child aside, it's been choice drama.) Anthony was released from jail on Saturday after being acquitted in the murder of her 3-year-old daughter, Caylee. Days before her freedom, a California lawmaker introduced Caylee's Law in response to the cable TV-fueled outcry. On Friday California Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell sought to make a name for herself by introducing Assembly Bill 1432, which, according to the Newport Beach Patch, "would make it a felony for a parent or guardian to fail to report a missing or dead child within 24 hours of the death or disappearance if it occurred under suspicious circumstances."
Caylee Anthony was reported missing on July 15, 2008 by her grandmother. Casey Anthony later admitted to the 911 operator that Caylee had been missing for a jaw-dropping 31 days.
An Oklahoma mother of two, Michelle Crowder, jumpstarted the law via an online petition she published on Change.org following Anthony's acquittal. More than 1.2 million people have signed it so far.