Joanie Scheske discovered that after 18 years of never getting justice for her brutal rape that left her with epilepsy, that her rape kit had never been tested. After getting a call in 2009 Joanie found out that her rape kit had been tested and proved the man accused guilty, and he is now serving 19 years in prison. This led to an investigation by USA Today and other news stations into how many rape kits have never actually been tested. They uncovered that tens of thousands of rape kits had been sitting in evidence lockers untested. There are several reasons why this could be but nothing is being done to fix it. In a couple cities there isn't even a protocol for testing rape kits. Other places don't run them unless they are involved in a "serial rape case". Most of the accumulation is in rural and smaller city departments. Most departments haven't even taken the time to determine how many untested sex-evidence kits are in their evidence rooms. And finally, The US Department of Justice does not follow the law that was put in place in 2013 in order to get more kits tested therefore, leaving the tens of thousands of cases unsolved.The reason why I chose this particular article was because I wanted to relate it back to the conquistadors raping the native women in oder to have the children baptized into christianity. As if this doesn't disgust me enough, those women had no such thing as a "rape kit" or even a fair trial. They just had to live with it. So, the fact that our justice department is neglecting to bring these women and families justice makes me very angry. It takes a lot for a woman to even report a rape case. So being ignored only threatens most women to never report their cases in fear of being ignored. I really hope they get this problem fixed because if not our nation is taking steps backwards instead of forwards.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/2015/07/16/untested-rape-kits-evidence-across-usa/29902199/
-Heather Hatch 8th period
Tristin Manus, 8th period.- It saddens me to the core that these women are being neglected. And I like how you related this particular situation to the conquistadors raping the native women so they can have their children baptized for Christianity. It is almost like history repeating itself and it's truly terrifying. I can not imagine what these women are going through, to not have someone on their side, helping them to receive justice. The nation truly needs to fix this growing problem , to bring emancipation to these women.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me feel very uneasy, just as I imagine these woman felt whenever they realized that their case would never be solved. This too reminded me of when the conquistadors raped the native woman for the baptism of their own children. those woman must feel unsafe and un cared for.
ReplyDeleteSebastian Nino, 5th Period: Reading this article the biggest thing I realized was the sheer amount of disregard the US justice system has for rape victim cases. The law is set to protect people and provide justice to those that are being unjust yet the law consistently fails to do so and this is a prim example. I find the sheer thought/idea of neglecting a rape case revolting, insulting, disgusting, astonishing, and perplexing. I cannot begin to wrap my head around the thought process of this blatant unjust conduct of the supposed justice system; this whole situation disgusts me.
ReplyDeleteFor years Women have been put on the back burner when it comes to a lot of things this is just another modern-day example. Rape isn't as commonly condoned today as what people think it is. In fact, even as early as in elementary school, boys who mistreat or mishandle their female classmates are just seen as playing around. It is even encouraged by saying boys will be boys. By brushing pass this behavior, there is no way women can feel secure in this country. Kiyanna Elliott
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