Why Are Police Departments Across The Country Trashing Rape Kits Before The Statutes Of Limitations Expire?
CNN investigates the disturbing trend that has flown quietly under the radar, while public attention has been focused on rape kits languishing in backlogs. “Each one of these kits represents a victim,” said Prosecutor Kym Worthy, of Wayne County, Michigan. “What you are doing when you destroy a rape kit is destroying the chance that they are ever going to see justice.”
CNN:
Destroyed: How The Trashing Of Rape Kits Failed Victims And Jeopardizes Public Safety
A CNN investigation into the destruction of rape kits in dozens of agencies across the country found that police trashed evidence in 400 cases before the statutes of limitations expired or when there was no time limit to prosecute. The number is likely higher and was arrived at through an analysis of the departments’ own records. The destruction occurred since 2010 and followed flawed and incomplete investigations that relegated rape kits to shelves in police evidence rooms until they were destroyed. Dozens were trashed mere weeks or months after police took custody of the evidence, records showed. (Fantz, Hernandez and Vashi, 11/29)
CNN:
Why Have Police Destroyed Rape Kits?
In the era of #MeToo and stories about the alleged perpetrators of sexual violence, CNN's exclusive investigation "Destroyed" turns the spotlight on those responsible for protecting the public. An examination into the destruction of rape kits in dozens of agencies across the country found that police trashed evidence in 400 cases before the statutes of limitations expired or when there was no time limit to prosecute.The number is likely higher and was calculated by analyzing the departments' own records. (Fantz, Hernandez and Vashi, 11/29)
In other women's health news —
The New York Times:
Why New York Lags So Far Behind On Natural Childbirth
Lisa Binderow had envisioned her labor a thousand times. She bought a birthing ball, hired a doula and even practiced hypnotherapy. Her plan was to deliver at the Mount Sinai West Birthing Center, an area of the hospital marked by pastel curtains, family-size beds and large birthing tubs. Separated from the regular labor and delivery floor, it is for women who want a natural childbirth with minimal medical intervention. Yet after arriving in triage, Ms. Binderow, 35, was made to wait. And wait. (Satow, 11/30)
NPR:
Meth Use On The Rise Among Pregnant Women
Kristen Philman had already been using heroin and prescription painkillers for several years when, one day in 2014, a relative offered her some methamphetamine, a chemical cousin to the stimulant amphetamine. "I didn't have any heroin at the time," says Philman, a resident of Littleton, Colo. "I thought, 'Oh this might make me feel better.'" It did, she says. Soon, she was using both heroin and methamphetamine on a regular basis. (Chatterjee, 11/29)
