Missouri state Rep. Jason Kander wants to make it easier for law enforcement to spot custody violations before they turn tragic. He introduced a bill that would require that more detailed information be accessible to police about child-custody arrangements, according to The Examiner.
There's a person behind every rule, and behind this one is Independence man Dan Porter. In 2004, he abducted and killed his two children, 7-year-old Sam and 8-year-old Lindsey. Police questioned Porter when the children went missing, but officers didn't know that he was supposed to be in charge of the children at the time. They let him go, and the remains of his slain children were found in a wooded area three years later. Porter finally confessed to the killings.
Tina Porter, the mother, has advocated for the measure since the
death of her children in hopes of police acting more quickly in these cases. Parental kidnappings are the most common form of kidnappings, Kander said. He dubbed the measure "Sam and Lindsey's Law," and this will be the second consecutive year he tries to get it passed.
If it passes, the law would require protection orders, which are
uploaded into a statewide law-enforcement database, to include
information on custody and visitation. That way, parental abusers would be more likely to be caught or prosecuted sooner than Tina Porter's three years of agony.
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