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Giving false information to police about a missing child could soon land someone behind bars for a long time. Legislation heard by House and Senate Committees today in Tallahassee makes it a felony with a possible five years in prison to mislead police, but the sentences could be a whole lot longer.

Casey Anthony was sentenced on four counts of lying about her missing and dead daughter. She served just under three years. but under proposed legislation sponsored by State Senator Joe Negron, Anthony could have been sentenced to 5 years on each count for a total of 20 years.

“I think it would be utterly reprehensible for a parent to know that their child is missing and intentionally steer law enforcement in the wrong direction,” Negron told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee when presenting the bill.
State Senator Alan Hays thinks the punishment should be even tougher and said so “SenatorNegron, I’m ready to throw them under the jail and throw the key away.”

The legislation received unanimous approval in House and Senate committees on Thursday. Police say the tougher penalties are just one more bit of leverage to use to get someone to tell the truth.

Once referred to as Caylee’s law, neither bill still carries the name. Sponsors say they don’t want the focus to be on just this one case.

“But we want to make sure everyone knows we won’t tolerate people lying to the police when there is a child unaccounted for” says Negron.

14 year old Skye Henning watched from the back and was pleased with the votes. Her mom works in law enforcement. Asked why she was there, she responded “I’m my mothers daughter and because I don’t like to see police waste their time.”

And while instances of parents lying about their children being missing are rare, lawmakers say the potential of spending two decades or more behind bars sends a strong message.
While the maximum sentence for each lie will be five years, investigators say there are always multiple lies and each lie can be treated as a separate crime.