President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed legislation aimed at ending the backlog of rape kits nationwide.
Presently, at least 100,000 rape kits are untested in the U.S. and are likely to remain so without adequate funding to test DNA in a timely fashion.
The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019, named in honor of a 1989 rape victim whose evidence went untested until 1994, will help fund DNA test training as well as education programs. The law will also fund the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Grant Program.
“This legislation authorizes the Department of Justice to provide resources to State and local law enforcement to help make sure that criminals are brought to justice. We know that DNA is much more likely than fingerprints to result in the identification of a criminal, yet thousands of rape kits currently sit untested in labs and on police storage shelves across the Nation,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
Nearly 20 states sue HHS over declaration to restrict gender transition treatment for minors
Watch: Thieves drag ATM through Texas convenience store in Christmas Eve theft attempt
Trump takes NORAD Santa calls with children, praises ‘clean, beautiful coal’ and ‘high-IQ’ person
ICE agents open fire on van driver who allegedly tried to run them over on Christmas Eve
Activists tied to LA bombing plot indicted on terrorism charges
DOJ discovers more than 1M potential Epstein records, further delaying file release
Post-Christmas Disaster: How 26 Million Pounds of Molasses Killed or Injured 170 in the Streets of Boston in 1919
Pentagon to send 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans as violent crime surges ahead of major events
Alito rips Supreme Court majority as ‘unwise’ for blocking Trump’s National Guard plan
Greta Thunberg Arrested After Caught Supporting Literal Anti-Jewish Terrorist Org – This Is the Kid the Left Platformed as a God for Years
California farming tycoon arrested in wife’s killing
Massie questions control of DOJ X account after report alleged White House takeover
New charges against DC National Guard shooting suspect open death penalty door
Shock and Awe: Fiery Rubio Imposes Unprecedented Sanctions on European Elites Who Attempted to Censor Americans
US Set to See Largest One-Year Decline in Murders in History: Crime Expert
“The Debbie Smith Act originally became law to provide local and State crime laboratories the resources to end the backlog of untested DNA evidence from unsolved crimes,” the statement continues. “President Donald J. Trump is proud to have worked with Congress, especially with Congresswoman Wagner and Senators Cornyn and Grassley, to achieve this bipartisan reauthorization.”
Each year, $151 million will fund the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, $12.5 million will go toward DNA training and education programs, while $30 million will be allocated to the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Grant Program, said Grisham.
In a statement to CBS News, Carol Messam-Gordon, an official at the Palm Beach County Victim Services & Certified Rape Crisis Center, said the funding will help fund new hires, resulting in more expeditious DNA testing.
“This funding makes it a little easier for them to hire new staff and hire new staff in their forensic lab it makes a difference with the amount of kits that can be tested quicker and more readily so victims can have the response that they need, and also for those cases to move even smoother through the criminal justice system,” Messam-Gordon said.
Story cited here.
