MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Officials say more than half of 12,000 backlogged rape evidence kits in Memphis have been tested or are at laboratories awaiting analysis, as the city works to pare down one of the largest inventories in the country.
Mayor A C Wharton Jr.’s office reported earlier this month that 6,286 kits, or 51 percent of the backlogged inventory, have been tested or sent to labs for DNA tests. The tests have resulted in 90 requests for indictments, and 52 suspects have been identified.
Of those suspects, 23 are believed to be offenders in multiple cases. Police and prosecutors are using test results to start investigations into finding victims and suspects, but dozens of investigations have been cut short because of statutes of limitations on rape charges, the deaths of victims or suspects, or the inability to find victims.
Memphis, Houston, Cleveland and Detroit are among the U.S. cities working to reduce a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits, with hopes that evidence collected from the kits could lead to prosecution of more sexual assault cases. Rape victims have sued the city of Memphis, alleging that the failure to test the kits has allowed too many rapists to escape prosecution.
In Memphis, the backlog dates back to the 1970s, officials say. After the backlog was revealed in late 2013, Wharton formed a task force charged with eliminating it.