Petition launched to make child kidnapping/murder federal offense punishable by death

One week after the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Hailey Owens of Springfield, a petition has been launched to make kidnapping and murdering a child federal offense punishable by death.

The petition, which is on the White House's "We the People" site, calls for the following:

Enact a Law which makes child abduction and murder a federal crime and instantly punishable by death penalty.

There are too many child abductions and murders every year in this country and I have had enough. We need to make it known that this will not be tolerated and even a first offense of child abduction followed by murder will be punishable by death. A clear message needs to be sent to child abducters, molesters, and murderers. I ask that this be a Federal Crime punishable by death.

One hundred thousand signatures are needed by March 21. At the time of this writing, the petition has 893 signatures.