“Caylee’s Law” Is a Bad Idea

I’ve been getting slammed in the comments to my earlier post about why Caylee’s Law is a bad idea, as has Radley Balko on his piece in the Huffington Post. Perhaps people will ease up a bit if I point out that Serena Straus, a former prosecutor in the Bronx Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence Unit, also thinks that Caylee’s Law is a bad idea.

Some of her reasons are pretty familiar, such as the lack of deterrence:

Certainly, Caylee’s law would be no deterrent. Let’s play this out. I murder my kid and have an hour to report it:

“Hmm…I can report this murder that I just committed thereby avoiding 1 – 5 under Caylee’s Law, but then I will be giving law enforcement access to all kind of wonderful forensic information that will lead to my conviction of 25 to life for murder. So….do I turn the body in or do I hide it somewhere hoping that by the time someone finds it, the condition will be so bad that forensics are useless….hmmmm….”

Or the troublesome definitions:

Even the requirement to report a child missing or risk criminal penalty is fraught with complications: What’s the age cut off? Is it 18 and under?  12 and under?  5 and under?  When does the clock starts ticking?  Is it when your 15 year old tells you they are leaving to sleep at a friend’s house or 15 hours later when you find out they lied?

But Straus also points out a few unintended consequences that could do more harm than good:

The potential for the police to be flooded with unwarranted complaints from guardians who think the kids are fine but are afraid of going to jail is real. Also, again, guardians who are going to do the right thing (or have half a brain) are going to report a child missing regardless.  And we don’t want to punish or deter later reporting for fear of jail.  Take the case of a parent whose kid has a tendency to not be totally honest about where they are going.  They say they are sleeping at a friend’s house.  They lied.  The parents find out 25 hours later – do you want to punish them for reporting within a reasonable time under their circumstance? Do you want to deter them from reporting with threat of prison?

This is similar to the ways the drug laws have discouraged people from seeking medical attention for drug users: You’re at party where there are drugs, and your friend becomes agitated, has difficult breathing, and then passes out. Knowing what the police will do if they find evidence of drugs, do you call 911 for an ambulance? Or do you wait to see if he’ll recover by himself?

If something like Caylee’s Law is enacted, parents of children who have been missing more than 24 hours will have the same kind of wonderful decision to make.