To continue with our series on the consequences of allowing rape kits to remain untested, we turn to the story of 57-year-old Michael Phillips of Dallas, Texas, who was exonerated on July 25 after having spent 12 years in prison on charges of rape. According to Reuters, the case “marked the first time someone has […]
Today’s guest post comes from Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Patti Powers from Yakima County, Washington. When Patti is not seeking justice for survivors in the courtroom, she is also a national speaker and trainer. For survivors of sexual assault, regardless of the passage of time, there are no cold cases. Rape is a continuing source […]
Keli Rabon is an investigative reporter with Call7News in Denver, Colorado. Her work to uncover rape kit backlogs in both Denver and Memphis has led to policy changes and state laws, and has earned Keli numerous regional and national awards. Of her reporting on the backlog she has said: “Untested rape kits are one of […]
Over the past several weeks, the colors of the ENDTHEBACKLOG map, which demonstrates everything we currently know about the rape kit backlog nationwide, have been changing. These changing colors represent the work legislators and communities across the country are doing to reform their states’ responses to the backlog. As we have reported previously, since January, […]
We the undersigned advocates who work with survivors of sexual assault to find healing and recovery, members of law enforcement who investigate their cases, and prosecutors who hold their perpetrators accountable, write today to ask that you join us in our effort to give survivors the justice they deserve. We urge Congress to prioritize the […]
Since 2009, Rachel Dissell and Leila Atassi have been covering the rape kit backlog for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Their investigative work has explored each facet of the criminal justice response to sexual violence—from rape kit testing to victim re-engagement to prosecution. Their reports have helped to uncover a backlog in Cleveland, to spread awareness […]
April has brought another update from Ohio as the state continues its progress on testing backlogged rape kits. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced this month that rape kit testing has yielded 1,104 DNA profiles that have hit—or matched—to offenders in the state and national DNA databank. Attorney General DeWine’s office is spearheading an […]
To continue with our series on the powerful benefits of testing every rape kit booked into evidence, we turn to one of the many cases solved after New York City cleared its backlog. In March 1991, a 17-year-old girl was accosted in the elevator of the Manhattan apartment building where she lived. Her assailant forced […]
This month, Joyful Heart joined officials in Memphis as they announced their commitment to end its backlog. Over the past year, investigations in Memphis have uncovered upwards of 12,000 untested rape kits in police storage facilities. It represents the largest known backlog in a city in the United States, and it is among largest backlogs […]
