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Utah House rejects bill that would criminalize willful failure to call 911
Summary
The Utah House defeated HB 104 on Feb. 18, 2020 after hours of debate over whether to create a narrowly tailored misdemeanor for people who 'willfully' fail to call 911 when they have personal knowledge someone is suffering serious bodily injury. Supporters said it closes a moral and legal gap; opponents warned it criminalizes inaction.
The Utah House on Feb. 18 defeated House Bill 104, a proposal to make it a class B misdemeanor for a person who "willfully" fails to call 911 when they have personal knowledge that another person is suffering serious bodily injury.
Sponsor Representative Brian King told colleagues the bill is narrow and intended to give prosecutors a tool to address "circumstances where an individual or a group intentionally and knowingly fails to call 911 when they know of serious injury." He said the measure includes guardrails and a willfulness standard that excludes panicked or reasonable responses: "It does not require…
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