March 29, 2018 Our guest authors today are from the research team of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University: Rachel Lovell, PhD; Mendel Singer, PhD; Daniel Flannery, PhD; and Misty Luminais, PhD. Here they explain why testing rape kits is beneficial for sexual assault survivors and for […]
Marya Simmons is the supervisor of the Victim Witness Unit at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. Since 2013, she has worked to support survivors through the prosecutorial process. Here, she discusses her role as a system-based advocate on the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Task Force, which handles cold cases associated with previously unsubmitted […]
On August 30, 1997, an 18-year-old woman was walking home from a friend’s house in Columbus, Ohio when a stranger violently attacked and raped her. She went to a hospital, had a rape kit collected, and reported the crime to police. The crime lab analyzed the kit and DNA evidence was obtained, but no further […]
In January, Joyful Heart filed an amicus brief in The State v. Jones, a case involving a 1993 kidnapping and rape that was being heard before the Ohio Supreme Court. Under consideration was a lower court’s decision to use, in part, the state’s delay in testing rape kits to dismiss these charges against an alleged […]
For Immediate Release: January 20, 2016Contact: Melissa Schwartz, media@endthebacklog.org NEW YORK – The Joyful Heart Foundation has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the State of Ohio, which is appealing the Ohio Court of Appeals’ decision to use the state’s backlog of untested rape kits in part to dismiss rape and kidnapping charges against […]
The Joyful Heart Foundation has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the State of Ohio, which is appealing the Ohio Court of Appeals’ decision to use the state’s backlog of untested rape kits in part to dismiss rape and kidnapping charges against an alleged serial rapist. Partners AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women, Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN), Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence (OAESV), and National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) joined Joyful Heart in filing the amicus late last night (available here).
With the passage of Ohio’s new rape kit testing bill—signed into law in December—we are highlighting Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro, the legislation’s sponsor, as today’s Featured Reformer. “The time to act is overdue. We have an obligation to assure justice for all victims regardless of when a crime occurred.” Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro […]
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 Cleveland. In Cleveland, five cold cases involving two perpetrators have been solved as a result of DNA evidence found in previously untested rape kits. Both Darnell […]
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 […]
