Michigan has become the newest state in the country to enact comprehensive rape kit reform. With the development of a new statewide tracking system for sexual assault evidence kits, Michigan has now enacted all six pillars of reform recommended by the Joyful Heart Foundation and leaders in this field.
On Tuesday, January 6th 2015, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Detroit Crime Commission, and Michigan Women’s Foundation announced a new public-private collaboration for justice: Enough SAID (Sexual Assault in Detroit). Enough SAID is an independent project that will work to advocate for public dollars and also fundraise in the private sector, using the money to […]
This week in our Cold Case Convictions series, where we highlight cases in which the testing of rape kits years later helps bring perpetrators to justice, we turn to Detroit. An untested rape kit from 1988 was recently tested in Detroit, leading to the arrest and conviction of serial offender Michael Eugene Swygart. Twenty-five years […]
During a 2010 audit of the Detroit crime lab, which was shut down in 2008 due to testing irregularities, officials discovered approximately 11,000 untested rape kits in Detroit storage facilities. Following the discovery, a collaborative team of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, researchers and victim advocates came together to work toward eliminating the backlog. With a […]
