Gov. Snyder Signs New Bill On Rape-Evidence Kits Tests
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder has taken another step to tighten Michigan's system for processing and analyzing rape-evidence kits that sometimes have languished for years in police evidence rooms.
Snyder on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 998 — bipartisan legislation sponsored by state Sen. Rick Jones — that creates the Sexual Assault Kit Tracking and Reporting Commission to develop guidelines for a statewide system to track the kits' processing.
"Too many victims have been waiting too long for justice they deserve. This legislation will help monitor the testing status of assault evidence kits," Snyder said, in a media release. "By ensuring faster testing and more organized record-keeping we can improve public safety and help put the minds of assault victims at ease."
Added Debi Cain, executive director of the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, "This bill sends a powerful message to sexual assault victims in Michigan that our state is committed to making justice for victims a priority. It also ensures that sexual assault kits will be given the attention they deserve and are treated as important evidence in cases moving forward."
In June, Snyder signed legislation setting rules for testing rape-evidence kits. It followed the 2009 discovery of 11,000 untested kits at Detroit police storage facility.
The June measure requires police to obtain a rape-evidence box from a health care facility within 14 days of being notified. The police have 14 more days to submit the DNA to a lab, where it generally must be analyzed within 90 days.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Schuette issued a statement praising Snyder and the legislators who pushed this latest bill through.
"Every woman who faces the tragedy of sexual violence has a right to know the status of the sexual assault evidence kit connected to her case. This legislation builds on our efforts to secure justice for survivors of sexual assault," said Schuette.
"I would like to thank Governor Snyder, and legislative leaders Speaker Jase Bolger, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, bill sponsors Senator Rick Jones and Senator Bert Johnson, and all the legislators who voted in support of this measure for their commitment to justice for victims of sexual assault," he said,
Thank you also to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, whose unwavering leadership helped make these reforms happen."
Worthy pushed for reforms and funding when the untested kits were found.
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