Carlie's Law was a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

introduced in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

by Representative

Katherine Harris Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957) is an American politician from Florida. A Republican, she served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 1998, as Secretary of State of Florida from 1999 to 2002, and as a member of the United States House of Re ...

(R-FL), with the support of

Nick Lampson Nicholas Valentino Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who is a former Democratic Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas. Early life, education, and early p ...

(D-TX) and

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first ...

(R-TN), in response to the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia by Joseph P. Smith in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in February 2004. Smith was on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

at the time of Brucia's murder, having been released from

state prison State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

thirteen months prior. The amendment to existing law was intended to toughen parole rules for

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

s 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.

Background

Carlie Jane Brucia (March 16, 1992 – February 1, 2004) was sexually battered and

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

by Joseph P. Smith (March 17, 1966 – July 26, 2021) after being kidnapped from a

car wash A car wash, or auto wash, is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior, of motor vehicle, cars. Car washes can be #Self-serve car wash, self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or #Autom ...

near her home in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, on February 1, 2004, while returning from a friend's house. She was reported missing by her parents within half an hour of her abduction. The kidnapping case became infamous after a surveillance video showing the girl surfaced. The video, taken from a

security camera A closed-circuit television camera is a type of surveillance camera that transmits video signals to a specific set of monitors or video recording devices, rather than broadcasting the video over public airwaves. The term "closed-circuit televisi ...

located behind a car wash, shows Brucia being confronted by a man, later identified as Smith, who then grabbed her arm and led her away toward a car that was spotted on another camera. The video was shown nationwide and spurred a massive

manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

for the abductor.

Arrest

On February 6, police announced that Smith, a 37-year-old father of three and

car mechanic An auto mechanic is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more automobile brands or sometimes working with any brand. In fixing cars, their main role is to diagnose and repair the problem accuratelS ...

with a long list of arrests for drug-related charges and one for kidnapping and

false imprisonment False imprisonment or unlawful imprisonment occurs when a person intentionally restricts another person's movement within any area without legal authority, justification, or the restrained person's permission. Actual physical restraint is n ...

, was in custody as the primary suspect. In the same announcement, the police confirmed that Smith's car was involved in the crime. The story gained national media attention in large part because Brucia's abduction was recorded by a surveillance camera. The tape shows her being approached by a man who seemed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. They apparently had a short conversation, after which he grabbed her by the arm and took her away. The FBI and NASA joined in the efforts to find Brucia and the man seen with her on the videotape.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

researchers used advanced image processing technology to enhance the recording by reducing image jitter. At least two informants called police, having recognized Smith from the television broadcasts of the security camera tape. Smith was already in custody at the time, having been arrested on February 3 on an unrelated

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

violation. Smith refused to speak with investigators about Brucia's abduction until February 5, when he revealed where he had hidden her body, behind a nearby

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Trial

On February 20, Smith was indicted for

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

, and charges of kidnapping and capital sexual battery were also filed by

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, F ...

prosecutors. The trial started November 7, 2005 in Sarasota. On November 17, 2005, the jury returned a guilty verdict. On December 1, 2005, the jury, by a vote of 10 to 2, returned a recommendation for the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. On March 15, 2006, Smith was sentenced to two terms of

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

on the charges of capital sexual battery and kidnapping, and to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

on the murder charge. In October 2011, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

(which had earlier rejected an appeal from Smith in June 2011), ordered that the State of Florida respond to a federal claim filed by Smith saying his right to confront witnesses at trial was violated when prosecutors introduced

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

evidence against him without making available the laboratory technician who actually performed the work. The Court later dismissed the appeal after deciding a related case, '' Williams v. Illinois''. In the aftermath of '' Hurst v. Florida'', which required juries in Florida to be unanimous in imposing the death penalty, Smith's death sentence was overturned in 2018; however the Florida Supreme Court reinstated his death sentence in April 2020. Smith, age 55, was found dead in prison on July 26, 2021, at

Union Correctional Institution The Union Correctional Institution, formerly referred to as Florida State Prison, and also commonly known as Raiford Prison is a Florida Department of Corrections state prison located in unincorporated Union County, Florida, near Raiford. Si ...

in Raiford, while awaiting his execution. His cause of death was liver cancer.

Dramatization

The case was featured in the first episode "Come Home Carlie" of the seventh season of

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...

's ''See No Evil'', aired in early February 2021.{{Cite web, url=https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/see-no-evil/full-episodes/come-home-carlie, title=Come Home Carlie | See No Evil, website=Investigation Discovery, accessdate=July 28, 2021

References

External links