Carlie's Law

'''Carlie's Law''' was a bill introduced in the United States Congress by Representative Katherine Harris (R-FL), with the support of Nick Lampson (D-TX) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), in response to the kidnapping, rape and murder of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia by Joseph P. Smith in Florida in February 2004. Smith was on probation at the time of Brucia's murder, having been released from state prison thirteen months prior.

The amendment to existing law was intended to toughen parole rules for sex offenders and also notify non-custodial parents when there is criminal activity near their child's home. Partly for this reason, Joseph Brucia, the child's father, approved making the law in her name, although he concedes this law would not have applied to her specific case, since the charges for which Smith was on probation were not the sexual offenses the law would target.

The bill failed to pass before the end of the 2004 session. Harris committed to re-introduce the bill in 2005, but no further information has been made available.

Joseph Smith, age 55, was found dead in prison on July 26, 2021, while awaiting his execution. His cause of death was liver cancer. Provided by Wikipedia