In police departments across Texas, tens of thousands of rape kits have been sitting on the shelves of property storage rooms for years, the result of strained budgets, overworked crime labs and a law enforcement philosophy that rape kits are primarily useful as evidence if a stranger committed the assault. Victims' rights advocates and some lawmakers say they will work to pass legislation this year to take all of that evidence out of storage and create a DNA database that would help track rapists and perhaps even identify those who have been wrongly convicted. State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, is preparing a bill that would require police departments to test all rape kits in their possession and every one they get in the future. "I think we owe it to every person who has been raped," Davis said.

Details.

[Great. Who pays for it? Funding for lab work is headed to fee-based approach.]

[This message was edited by JB on 01-29-11 at .]

[This message was edited by JB on 01-29-11 at .]

I agree completely.