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SALT LAKE CITY — A proposed bill to be introduced in Washington state this week will honor the lives of Charlie and Braden Powell.
The boys' maternal grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox, helped to craft the bill in hopes the deaths of their grandsons will be a vehicle for change.
Utah's law
A similar thing happened when a Utah bill was proposed following another child abuse case six years ago. Now law, that proposal will result in the death penalty for the suspects in an infamous 2010 child abuse homicide in Weber County.
In September of 2010, Kimberly Hale, who lost her own daughter in a child abuse homicide case, was in a Davis County courtroom when Stephanie and Nathan Sloop heard the capital murder charges against them.
"I still have goosebumps. It still brings a lot of memories back for me," she said.
The Sloops are accused in the death of Stephanie's 4-year-old son Ethan Stacey, who was beaten to death and buried near Powder Mountain.
"His mom and (stepfather) could have gotten away with 15 years in prison," Hale said.
But prosecutors in Davis County plan to seek the death penalty against the couple. The case was the first prosecuted under a new law passed in 2007, which makes child abuse deaths involving reckless indifference a capital offense.
The law was named after Hale's daughter, Shelby, who died in 2006 after she was abused by her stepmother and father.
"I know Shelby was set out for greatness. I just didn't know she was going to have to die for it to happen," Hale said.
But Hale also finds comfort in knowing that Shelby's death was not in vain. "What we're hoping is that when people hear about these cases, that other people will stop and think before they act," she said.
Change in Washington
In Washington state, the Cox family wants their tragedy to inspire change too.
"What they want is change, and they want to make sure it doesn't happen to another family," said attorney Anne Bremner, who represents Chuck and Judy Cox.
What they want is change, and they want to make sure it doesn't happen to another family.
–Anne Bremner, Cox family attorney
Washington state Sen. Pam Roach is working on 10 bills, including one that would prevent a murder suspect from getting child custody. Roach says the law would have applied to Josh Powell.
"They called it a missing person's case publicly, but on paperwork, it shows that this was a murder investigation," Roach said.
The bill, if passed, would be known as Charlie and Braden's Law. While such a bill may not have saved their lives, the hope is it will protect other children.
"They were beautiful little boys, and they were set out for great things," Hale said. "Hopefully this will move forward in steps so that people will remember these beautiful little angels in a different light."
Lawmakers in Washington could consider the bills proposed by Sen. Roach during their next legislative session in January of 2013.
Lawsuit against WVCPD still an option
Meanwhile, Bremmer said a lawsuit against West Valley City police for not arresting Josh Powell is one of several options for the Cox family.
Bremmer said she's been a district attorney, a prosecutor and has defended police officers, but she's never seen anything like this case.
"People say (Josh Powell) should have been arrested," she told TV station KCPQ in Seattle Monday. "Yes. But more than that, he should have been prosecuted. He should have been arrested, jailed, prosecuted. None of those things happened."
Bremmer told KSL Tuesday that Chuck and Judy Cox want change. A lawsuit against West Valley City police for failing to arrest Josh Powell is premature, she said, but one option.
Documents released last week showed evidence that police had collected in the disappearance of Susan Powell, raising questions about whether they had enough to arrest Josh. Some speculate that if he had been arrested, he would not have been able to kill himself and his two sons in February.
Chuck Cox told KSL Monday he's not ready to file a lawsuit. Bremmer said the Coxes would like to see all the evidence before making a decision and remain supportive of law enforcement.
West Valley City Police Chief Buzz Nielsen has defended the department's actions, saying if they could have arrested Josh Powell, they would have, and the investigation remains active.
