Ethan’s Law To whom it may concern, This is a petition to request that in addition to the existing laws in place to prevent and protect children from child abuse, the following is added under the title of “Ethan’s Law.” We would like to see punishments of a higher severity put in place against those who have inflicted intentional bodily harm upon a minor. Utah law 78A-6-105 defines abuse under the following: • Nonaccidental harm of a child • Threatened harm of a child • Sexual exploitation • Sexual abuse • Human trafficking of a child Per Utah law, the current charge for intentional abuse of a child is a second degree felony. The possible penalties for a second degree felony at this time are one to fifteen years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines. There is not a specific record of the charges that accompany child abuse resulting in death, and as such many cases can receive a plea bargain to reduce the charges. We would like this to change. The following list contains the changes we would like to enforce in Utah law under the title of “Ethan’s Law:” • Minimum charges for child neglect: 1 to 10 years- class A misdemeanor • Minimum charges for child abuse: 50 years to life, with lifetime parole and regular psychiatric exams, home visits, and periodic police monitoring- Second or third degree felony • Minimum charges for aggravated child abuse: 50 years to live • Minimum charges for child abuse resulting in death: Capital offense with minimum sentencing of life in prison, and maximum sentencing of death. • Minimum charges for murdering a child: Capital offense with minimum sentencing of life in prison, and maximum sentencing of death. We would like these changes to be made under the name of “Ethan’s Law” in honor of an 18-month old boy named Ethan Antes. Ethan was killed while in the care of his step father, Codey Jolley. On the night of April 29th, 2016, Codey Jolley called 911 to request help for Ethan, stating that he had left him in the bath tub to go clean up the apartment and cook himself a burrito. According to Jolley, Ethan was face down in the water upon his return. He claimed that he had attempted to resuscitate Ethan, but “realized he didn’t know what he was doing” and called the local authorities. The 911 operator was trying to walk him through the process of CPR when Jolley hung up the phone after refusing to provide the address for the emergency call. After 45 minutes of searching and reportedly being directed to the apartment by a neighbor, emergency responders found Ethan face down on the floor in the hall. Ethan was dry and unconscious, and Codey was sitting on the bed instead of trying to revive the boy. The paramedics tried to revive Ethan for 45 minutes, and finally got a pulse before rushing him to Primary Children’s Hospital. His mother was escorted there by police, where she found her son. They put Ethan on life support after declaring that he was brain dead, and Ethan was taken off of life support the morning of May 1st. His mother, Riki, held her sweet baby boy in her arms while his spirit left this world. Codey has since been charged with murder. But Codey has the opportunity to plea for a lesser sentence in regard to the things he did to an 18-month old little boy. This man that stole the life of a sweet toddler, someone’s son, someone’s grandson, the light in the eyes of every member of Ethan’s family, has the ability to potentially walk free. Why? Because our justice system does not have laws in place to prevent it. More often than not, a child abuser walks free because the child they abused cannot testify to the abuse due to their inability to speak. There are countless cases in which the abuser walks away with hardly a month spent behind bars. This is what needs to change. We want our laws to change permanently, and in a way that will not enable the abuser to hurt another child. The people that steal the innocence from children, their lives, their childhood, should NOT be permitted to ever walk free again. Please join us in our fight to achieve justice for Ethan, as well as for every single other child who left this world without a voice. These abusers will no longer get to live their way of life without consequence, and you can help. Be a voice for the voiceless. Fight for justice for every abused child. Right now, at this very moment, there is a child being abused. You have the power to stop it, and signing this petition is the first step to ensuring that all children are safe. Our children are our future. Protect them.