Buried amid rape kit backlog: Justice for victims

Buried amid rape kit backlog: Justice for victims

DETROIT (AP) — For nearly two decades, Carol Bart's untested rape kit collected dust in a police evidence room. Her attacker, who kidnapped her from outside her Dallas apartment and repeatedly raped her at knifepoint, had spent time in prison by coincidence, but not for sexually assaulting Bart.

Bart, now a 52-year-old mother of four, fears that among the thousands of backlogged, untested kits pulled from a Detroit police evidence room are stories of women similarly violated only to be forgotten by a justice system that seemingly has placed its priorities and resources elsewhere.

"Women go to the hospital and their bodies are a crime scene and treated as such," said Bart, who still lives in Texas. "For these kits then to just to sit in a laboratory or in police vaults or wherever they sit, denies victims of sexual assault any opportunity for justice. I just wonder how many more there are?"

This is a huge social issue....

Thousands of untested rape kits just sit there....

According to some estimates, between 180,000 and 400,000 rape kits remain untested nationwide, despite DNA technology that can swiftly link rapists to crimes.

it is a social issue because of a simple reason

1) the law officers went through a re-violation on the victim to collect the information... then they do nothing

this is part of the reason why Officers of the law are not respected...

Its why you get so many haters.....


2) these caught criminals (DNA)

walk free.... read the article....(mentions this)
statue of limitations


I bet you now officers of the law are actually destroying extra rape kits and losing paperwork rather then admit they have untested rape kits

Yes this makes me hot...
Why has the law not processed these kits....

I want you to look the victims in the eyes with your answer


Is this a conspiracy?

Yes
These kits are from before the crash... the local cops and DA pocketed the money rather then run the test...


How did these police departments afford new police cars and gear?


the proof is in the puddin so to speak.....

now the 'economy' is bad, we cant afford the test... leaving these women and society in danger, grave danger


A complete failure of the system

"I felt re-victimized knowing nothing had happened to my kit," Alexenko said.

I know in some other cases their is no statue of limitations....

and then they turn around after other victims and poof there it is....

With the help of the Peace Over Violence advocacy group, she learned in 2009 that her kit was not tested until 2003. Charles Courtney was in jail for another crime when the kit was tested. He is serving a 25-year sentence in Ohio for another rape. When that's completed, Courtney will serve time in California for raping her, Lazaro said.

makes me wonder...


(I posted this so I am not accused of painting this article .... over the statue of limitations comment)

I agree with everything you said.

Unfortunately catching sexual predators is not as profitable as catching drug dealers and drug users. As with drug dealers and users you get to seize their property. With sexual predators..the police have to spend money on testing the rape kits..they see it as a loss.

That is the society we live in..it has nothing to do with justice ..always the bottom line is money.


Peace.

This is why as a pro second amendment advocate I believe that all women should arm themselves and become familiar with a carry firearm. The police are not there to stop crimes, they are there to take reports and possibly apprehend the perpetrator after the fact. The use of lethal force in an instance like this is 100% justifiable in my book. What rape does to some can never be undone, and if the assailant is willing to use force to get what they want, then they should also expect to be met with force from the victim to defend themselves. These women may never get that peace because of a underfunded and messed up legal system, sad especially with today's technology.


ETA: If your area doesn't allow the carry of a firearm then I highly recommend a high concentrated OC or pepper spray. They sell them in doses high enough to prevent bear attacks at sporting good retail outlets. Also a stun gun would be a great choice as well, the only problem with a stun gun is you need to be in closer proximity for it to be totally effective.

This whole scenario is unconscionable. There is NO excuse. It is not only one state that has the problem, it is a national epidemic. The tests should not be so expensive and I don’t think they are. It’s just government overpricing. There are probably 500,000 or more kits waiting to be tested. The backlog is ridiculous as well. Maybe Obama could open up a few new facilities to get the ball rolling. It should create many many jobs, and they wouldn’t cost a million dollars each. Getting the DNA testing would solve a lot of crimes, not just rape and sexual violence. Again I say, there is no excuse.

reply to post by spav5


first, thank you..

you are correct of the old joke of the to any question of Why dont...

always money...


With the pocketbook answer I could answer this... its one of the institutional problems Americas Enforcers face... not being smart enough to realize a little work now will prevent a lot more later...

broken window strategy

You could save money and prevent future crimes... we dont need more money for the police departments, we need people who want to work and do their jobs...

this really upsets me...

Originally posted by SpaDe_
This is why as a pro second amendment advocate I believe that all women should arm themselves and become familiar with a carry firearm.

Pretty much the only significant issue I agree with the conservatives/righties now.

Owning a gun is essential and especially for the weaker members of society who are more vulnerable now than ever.

Every citizen should own a firearm and be trained in its safe use. Peace now = piece now. There's no peace, so you gotta know your piece.

reply to post by SpaDe_


your preaching to the choir...

“God made every man different; Sam Colt made them equal."

reply to post by Gridrebel


it is what truly surprises me...

Why has the government not ran the DNA test?

The DoHS security could do the test for the free DNA sample... After all it is government property and would allow at least 100,000 plus dna strands to be registered with DoHS legally...

I thought this crap was what the Fusion centers were supposed to be doing...

reply to post by Leftist


life would be so much more interesting as that manners would improve...

signifacantly

As a forensic major....
I can attest that labs are backed up all over the country. It really is an epidemic. Problem is, there are not enough "techs" in labs to handle the work load. And while there are people like me who studied forensics, most departments/states dont have the funding to hire the people.

There are now private companies that are hired to do a lot of testing....but im not really sure if funding is needed to hire out....and not sure of each departments requirement to hire out or do in house and sit on stuff....

That is why it takes so long to get results back on evidence...

Its a huge huge problem all over the country.

reply to post by SpaDe_


Jesus.

Do you ever stop to think about what you're saying?


"I was raped"

"Should have been carrying a gun sweety."

Really? Maybe her skirt was too short too.

reply to post by Miraj


I wish merely to interject here on this...


I believe that is not what was meant... The incidents here (mentioned int the article) are why the poster considers being armed a wise choice... .22 ounces or more of prevention worth more then a ton of cure


I am glad everyone is keeping it civil over differences of opinion here and recognizing it is a shame on the face of America, that these poor women are being re-victimized by this...

I guess ATS is maturing more and more then I thought....

Originally posted by Miraj
reply to post by SpaDe_

 

Jesus.

Do you ever stop to think about what you're saying?


"I was raped"

"Should have been carrying a gun sweety."

Really? Maybe her skirt was too short too.

Thanks for not only putting words in my mouth, but also completely distorting what I had to say. My message is clear, and it is has nothing to do with what clothing is worn, or a lack of compassion for the victims. Last time I checked rapists go after suit wearing business women too.

To all the ladies; Carry pepper spray in your bra, the purse won't suffice if he grabs it or you drop it out of fear.

It is never your fault, there are just creepy ass dudes out there. Self protection is one of the main things that prevent you from becoming a victim.

Cops are insufficient, especially in a large city like Detroit. Money rules our society, it is more important than human life now. It is sad.