By David Eggert
Associated Press
LANSING (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder and top law enforcers have proposed spending $4 million to test DNA evidence in thousands of unprocessed rape kits in Detroit, saying victims have waited too long for justice and suspected rapists can still be caught for old crimes.
After taking over the city’s crime lab in 2008, the state discovered more than 11,000 untested rape-evidence boxes dating back 25 years.
About 2,000 were submitted for testing thanks to a federal grant and private donations, and others were deemed invalid. But an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 have gone untested.
Each kit has the potential to solve crimes and flag cases involving serial rapists, according to law enforcement officials.
“This is a huge down payment,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who attended an announcement in Lansing with Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette and other officials.
The $4 million allocation would come from legal settlement funds set aside by the attorney general’s office and requires approval from the Legislature in a pending supplemental spending bill.
A rape kit test costs $1,500, which means the backlog could be reduced by nearly 2,700. Snyder is optimistic more kits could be tested under bulk-processing agreements with labs.
“It’s the right thing to do because there are people that have been victims that are in these kits that deserve justice,” Snyder said. “It’s right for our criminal justice system because there are bad people out there who should be put away.”
For 569 kits where testing is complete, prosecutors found 136 hits in a DNA crime database, Worthy said.
Thirty-two serial rapists were identified, some by name. She has charged four men in connection with five rapes, and DNA matches were linked to crimes in 11 other states and Washington, D.C.
“Justice was put in a box and put on a shelf. That’s going to end now with this team effort,” Schuette said.
Snyder did not rule out proposing to spend more money later to continue addressing the backlog.
Although media reports suggest untested kits have been problematic in cities around the country, Detroit and Houston are two jurisdictions currently working with the National Institute of Justice to determine how to approach the testing of previously untested kits to determine the best criminal justice outcome.
Worthy has worked with a unique collaborative team of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, researchers and victim advocates to work toward testing every kit.
With a grant from the federal government’s Office on Violence Against Women to the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, Worthy joined the Michigan State Police, the
Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, and Michigan State University to create “Project 400”, an effort to test 400
randomly selected kits in order to determine the nature of the evidence and what kinds of cases are connected to the evidence. Since the completion of Project 400, an additional 1,600 kits have been submitted for testing. To date, 569 have made it through the lengthy testing process.
“My office has been hard at work with these 11,303 rape kits for four years,” said Worthy. “Testing is very expensive, and already approximately $1.5 million in federal grant funds have been secured from the National Institute of Justice and over $50,000 in private donations have been allocated for this purpose. ... With the money that will be provided today for further testing, thousands more kits can be tested. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is committed to prosecuting every single case that can be prosecuted as a result of these hits.”
To date, Worthy has launched five prosecutions as a result of the testing:
1) Antonio Jackson — A fourteen-year-old kit containing DNA evidence linked Antonio Jackson, 38, to the 1997 home invasion and rape of a woman at gunpoint. Jackson broke into the victim’s home at 3:50 a.m. on February 17, 1997, held her at gunpoint and raped her while her children slept in the same bed. Jackson was found Guilty by jury on one count of Home Invasion - 1st Degree and one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct - 1st Degree. Jackson is currently serving a sentence of 30-50 years in prison.
2) Eric Taliaferro — A thirteen-year-old kit containing DNA evidence linked Eric Taliaferro, 39, to the 1998 home invasion and rape of a mother. Taliaferro raped the victim with her baby on the bed next to her. After the assault, Taliaferro then stole money from the baby’s piggy bank. Taliaferro pled no contest to two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct - 1st Degree, and is currently serving a sentence of 15-30 years in prison.
3) Three additional rape cases involving two defendants, Jerrod Allen and Billy Bingham, remain pending in Wayne County.
“Despite the fact that national crime statistics have long indicated that sexual assault is one of the most unreported violent crimes, in Michigan, we want sexual assault victims to know that a compassionate and victim-centered criminal justice response is a priority,” said Debi Cain, Executive Director, Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board.
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