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Crusade on Capitol Hill
By Kelly M. Pyrek

The Debbie Smith Act captures bipartisan support of lawmakers fighting the rape-kit and DNA evidence backlog.

The stranger's hand clamps itself around her mouth before she has a chance to scream.

Someone will be sexually assaulted in the United States every 2 minutes in , according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

She feels the sharp point of a knife at her ribs and her blood runs cold.

This translates to 30 sexual assaults per hour, 720 per day and 262,800 per year.

She knows that in an instant, her life has changed forever.

She represents one in three women who will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

"She" is someone's wife, mother, sister, girlfriend or daughter. She is among the thousands of victims whose offenders may never be caught because of a rape-kit processing backlog. While technology is revolutionizing the ability to identify and convict rapists and other violent offenders, a lack of funds, time and trained personnel conspire against the swift processing of DNA evidence

Fighting Back

Aided by an unprecedented show of bipartisan support, several bills currently making their way through Congress not only could trigger sweeping changes in the way rape kits are processed, but champion the services of sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs).

Rep. Mark Green

A critical piece of legislation now circulating throughout congressional committees is the Rape Kit Analysis Backlog Elimination Act, introduced to the House March 13 as HR by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and introduced to the Senate April 25 as SB by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). The bills clarify that grants authorized under the existing DNA Analysis Backlog Act of may be used to expedite processing of the large numbers of rape kits waiting to be analyzed and their results entered into the nationwide Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). As many as several hundred thousand rape kits sit untested in law enforcement offices nationwide, a statistic that is unacceptable to sexual assault victims and their families, as well as to a growing number of activists, violence experts, forensic nurses and government officials. The bills would increase funding for rape-kit processing from $25 million to $150 million in and from $25 million to $100 million in .

A much more widely publicized bill, HR , known as the Debbie Smith Act and named after a Williamsburg, Va. rape survivor-turned-activist, was co-sponsored by Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Mark Green (R-WI). It is a more comprehensive piece of legislation that calls for standardized rape kits, the expedited processing of DNA and the increased presence of SANEs in U.S. hospitals. Although some cold cases are being solved as DNA samples are matched to DNA profiles in databases, hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from rape kits, offenders and crime scenes remain untested due to inadequate funding. The Debbie Smith Act would provide the necessary additional funding for laboratories to process this backlogged DNA evidence.

A companion bill to the Debbie Smith Act is Senate Bill , introduced March 21 by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). On May 14, Cantwell testified on using DNA evidence to combat crime before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. She stated, "Debbie Smith's experience is testimony to the power of DNA evidence. It would have been impossible to solve a no-suspect case like Debbie's without the use of DNA evidence. It took six years for the forensic evidence sample taken at the time of her rape to be crosschecked against the Virginia database of convicted felons. But, when the comparison was made, her attacker was found and he was sentenced to two life terms plus 25 years. Debbie put her own experience with DNA testing to good use. By talking openly about her own rape, I believe she is partially responsible for the increase that we are seeing in the reporting of rape."

Caldwell continued, "If women have the courage to come forward and report a sexual assault, and to submit to a physical examination and evidence gathering, we owe them an absolute guarantee that at a minimum that sample will be analyzed and checked against databases of known sexual offenders and violent felons."

In her testimony, Cantwell called upon lawmakers to support the establishment of a greater number of SANE programs. Currently, the services of SANEs are offered to victims in about 10 percent of U.S. counties. There are an estimated 330 established SANE programs and another several hundred fledgling programs in the country today; a small number considering there are more than 6,000 hospitals and 3,066 counties in the United States.

"Women who are raped also deserve to receive respectful treatment by people trained to collect and preserve forensic evidence," Cantwell said. "That is what the SANE does.

Debbie's Story

Debbie and Rob Smith speak out on behalf of rape victims in Washington, D.C.

Debbie Smith's ordeal began May 3, . Smith was performing routine household chores while her husband Rob, a police lieutenant, was asleep after working the night shift and then appearing in court. After going outside briefly, Smith left the kitchen door unlocked for a few minutes, planning to return to take out the trash. A masked stranger entered the home, overtook her and dragged her to a wooded area behind the house where he blindfolded, robbed and raped her repeatedly. He said that if she told anyone, he knew where she lived and would come back. When Smith was freed, she awakened her husband, told him what happened and begged him to let her take a shower to try to wash away the pain caused by her perpetrator.

Rob Smith's law enforcement instincts kicked in and he prevented Debbie from making the one mistake that allowed many rapists to go free--washing crucial trace evidence down the drain.

"Had I taken a shower, I probably would have ruined any chance of finding my attacker," Debbie says. "I was crying and telling him I had to get rid of all traces of my attacker to feel better. If Rob had not stopped me, there wouldn't have been any evidence, my attacker might not have been identified, and I might still be living in fear. He knew if we were going to catch the rapist, we had to preserve trace evidence."

It wasn't until July 26, that a scientist in the Virginia crime lab made a cold hit, identifying Debbie's attacker from a DNA match to a man serving time for felony bad check writing. For the first time since her attack, Debbie knew her assailant couldn't return to hurt her or their two children. A backlog of rape kits forced Debbie and Rob Smith to wait six years before the identity of her attacker could be discovered.

"Virginia is usually slow-moving," Rob says, "but we actually lead the country in DNA usage. We had 180,000 samples in our database. In the first three months of this year we had 40 hits per month; in April we had 64; that's more than a lot of states are getting in a year. Other states are working to catch up with us. Our case occurred in when our lab was just starting to work with DNA. In the early s Virginia passed legislation to allow blood samples to be taken from convicted felons to create DNA profiles."

Rob continues, "There was a serial rapist 25 or 30 miles from here who was attacking little girls at bus stops. He left enough evidence at a scene to procure a DNA sample. Police got a hit from a guy convicted of another felony. They were able to clear a dozen rapes because he was in prison for writing bad checks." The man who raped Debbie also was already serving time robbery and abduction.

Debbie recently visited the evidence storage room of the Virginia crime lab and says she nearly broke down when she saw the large number of unprocessed rape kits. "It broke my heart," Debbie says, her voice wavering with emotion. "I looked at all of those kits on the shelves and I thought, 'These aren't just boxes, these are people's lives.' Sometimes I feel guilty that I was able to find out who my perpetrator was while other victims continue to wait. The worst of it is that a timely DNA match can prevent other people from being hurt by the same assailant. The average rapist will rape 8 to 12 times until he is caught. That's a lot of lives impacted, especially when the rapist also affects the lives of your loved ones."

Debbie also knew the pain her husband was feeling. "I've finally been able to come to terms with what happened to Debbie," Rob says, but admits that it was a long journey to some small peace of mind. "I had to deal with being a police officer whose wife was raped. We have a certain mindset we think we have to uphold; policemen don't cry and nothing bothers us. At the time, my focus was on getting Debbie through the ordeal. I pushed my own feelings into the background but found out later it was a mistake. I have since dealt with the enormous feelings of guilt about not being able to protect my wife."

Debbie says watching her family suffer along with her prompted her to want to speak out about the attack. However, she says it wasn't without misgivings. "(Speaking out) was and sometimes continues to be very much out of my comfort zone. I knew I had to put myself on the line for something this important."

Debbie says she was being interviewed by a local reporter regarding the one-year anniversary of the rape and the fact no suspect had been found. When the reporter asked her if she could use Debbie's name in the story, Debbie decided it was the moment when she could take a stand on behalf of all rape victims. "We talked it over with our children because I knew going public could cause them some problems. I told them I wanted to do it; if this can happen to me then it can happen to anybody. It was hard to go public for many reasons. It meant opening myself up to people who might not understand why I was speaking up about the rape. I didn't want anyone to think I was doing this for publicity's sake; I was doing this for women everywhere."

"We as rape victims can't allow our attackers to be left on the streets, preying on others. I didn't want this to happen to me, but now I can try to keep it from happening to anyone else."

The Hospital Experience

Debbie says her experience in the emergency room of the local hospital is a good example of the lasting impressions a rape creates on the victim and why change in who works with sexual assault victims is needed.

"The emergency staff could not have been nicer to me," Debbie explains. "The problem was that they didn't know that there was a better way. I was not mistreated, but from my viewpoint, it was humiliating. I was taken to a room in which people were constantly coming in and out from everywhere. I was so confused, trying to figure out what was going on. Three nurses and a doctor were helping me. They were going in and out, asking questions then leaving. A lot of the questions sounded the same, so I thought they were trying to make me stumble in my answers. With each question, they needed slightly different information, but to me it sounded like they didn't believe me."

"They asked me to remove all of my clothing, which became evidence, and they gave me a gown to put on. I had to leave the room I was in and walk through the main part of the ER while trying to hold my gown together. There were no other patients there, but I had to walk past other ER staff to get to the other side where an OB/GYN table was. They were just standing there, looking at me. I know they were as shocked as I was that this happened, but I felt like I was on display. I was asked to lie down and put my feet in the stirrups. I waited and waited, lying there exposed. Finally the doctor comes in and started combing, swabbing and plucking. The whole time I was thinking, 'Please let it be over, let me go home.' What I went through at the hospital was almost as devastating as the actual rape; I was afraid they didn't believe me. What I know now about SANE programs in hospitals, I think how much better they are for rape victims. It would have been so much easier to deal with just one person, and that the person examining me and collecting evidence was a female instead of a male. I mean, this crime happened at the hands of a man. A SANE would have made my experience at the hospital so much better."

A Better Way

Debbie knew she had to get a SANE program launched at her community hospital.

Sen. Maria Cantwell

"We initially approached hospital administration and evidently that was the wrong thing to do," Debbie recalls. "They're not bad people, it's just that the bottom line is all they tend to think about. On paper, I don't think a SANE program looked cost effective to them at first. I got to know the victims' witness assistant in our court system when my case went to trial. She heard about my experience at the hospital and it devastated her. She talked to the hospital's auxiliary board and to the volunteer coordinator and got us a hearing. I addressed the board members and later learned it was the first time in history they had voted unanimously on anything. Their only questions were, 'How many nurses do we need and how much money does it take to get a SANE program started?'"

"We have the highest regard for forensic nurses," Rob Smith says. "The hospital experience wasn't pleasant for Debbie, but it would have been more endurable for her if a SANE nurse had attended to her. The people who worked on her knew me and by virtue of that they gave Debbie the kid-glove treatment. Still, having a SANE would have been better. I think SANE programs should be part of all healthcare delivery. Debbie didn't give the outward appearance of being physically injured-there were no cuts or bruises. But some ER staff wouldn't understand the emotional depth of the pain rape victims go through."

Rob Smith believes forensic nurses are key players in the effort to document evidence needed to catch perpetrators or provide expert testimony in court. "I had a case last year involving a 16-year-old male youth sodomizing his 2-year-old nephew. The exam revealed scarring that had been going on for some time. We had nothing but circumstantial evidence--his grandmother walked into the room at the same time he was walking out, zipping up his pants. And the child's diaper was off. In your mind and my mind that's enough, but in court, that's insufficient evidence. The defense brought in the ER doctor and the child's family physician to support the defendant. The SANE testified and her analysis of the physical evidence convinced the judge that the youth was guilty. The judge said the forensic nurse had done a better job of presenting the evidence. My advice to SANE nurses is: continue your training and education and keep doing what you're doing. They are doing all the right things to help police officers."

"I would love to see the day SANE programs are mandatory in every community," Debbie says. "The first reaction a rape victims gets from people has a lot to do with the way she begins to process everything. I cannot think of a better way to help a rape victim than for a SANE to be his or her first contact."

In , the Department of Justice addressed the DNA backlog by providing funding to states to help process these samples. Attorney General John Ashcroft said that to date, more than 347,000 convicted-offender DNA profiles and nearly 8,000 no-suspect cases have been analyzed under the DNA Backlog Reduction Program. This analysis identified 610 offenders and produced 193 forensic hits in cases not known to be related and committed by the same offender. He reported that states participating in the program achieved a 19 percent average hit rate among no-suspect cases. A number of states have been successful in matching DNA samples to criminals and other crimes; Virginia had a 48 percent hit rate and Kansas a 28 percent hit rate. When North Carolina analyzed 154 cases under the federal program, it had 25 hits-50 percent of which were rape cases.

To expedite the backlog, Ashcroft has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to redesign the infrastructure of its CODIS system in order to achieve the following goals: increase the system's capacity from 1.5 million to 50 million DNA profiles; reduce the search time for matching DNA profiles from two hours to just seconds; increase the frequency with which search requests are performed against the national database from weekly to instantly; and reduce the system server sites from 181 to one to reduce state costs.

Bipartisan Support

Rob and Debbie Smith say they are encouraged by the strong bipartisan support HR has received so far. Debbie has launched an ambitious letter-writing campaign.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney

"I am writing by hand a letter to every member of the House and Senate," Debbie emphasizes, "even though it would be more efficient to send a computer form letter. If it's handwritten it will show them how important an issue it is to me. A form letter is too impersonal, and besides, rape is a very personal, intimate crime. It's a slow process, and hopefully the legislation will be passed before I get through my list. My goal is to write 10 letters a day so that I can finish in two months.

"DNA evidence is our best weapon to fight rapists, but it's not being used effectively," says bill sponsor Carolyn Maloney. "The failure to process DNA evidence quickly and correctly has left thousands of victims without justice. For example, in New York City alone, we have the potential to resolve 16,000 unsolved rape cases if we could just process the 18-month backlog of DNA evidence. Only six of more than 60 hospitals in New York City have adequate programs to collect DNA evidence. Ninety-five percent of rape survivors never see a professionally trained examiner. The consequences are an American scandal: in one in five cases where DNA evidence is collected by untrained examiners, the evidence is inadmissible in court."

Maloney says the bill will provide the funds needed to standardize evidence collection kits for sexual assaults, thus expediting processing; it will provide for the training of SANEs and law enforcement first responders; it will provide resources to forensic labs to complete DNA processing; and it will require states to implement a plan within five years to complete all DNA evidence testing within 10 days of receipt.

When Maloney approached Congressman Mark Green, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Crime Subcommittee, about supporting the Debbie Smith Act, he says he jumped at the chance.

"I do a lot of work in fighting crimes against women and children," says Green, who authored a bill called "Two Strikes and You're Out" for child molesters. "Carolyn came to me because of my interest in helping victims. I get approached by a lot of people about a lot of bills, like we all do, but reading Debbie's story and then having the chance to meet her ... I was sold. You can't help but be moved by what she went through and her willingness to turn her terrible tragedy into something positive."

Green believes the backlog of unprocessed rape kits is a travesty politicians can--and must--fix quickly. "The only way we're going to win this battle is if we utilize the DNA technology we have. We want to make sure the states have the human and financial resources they need to fulfill the promise of this technology.

Green continues, "I have joked about the fact that I would be characterized as a pretty tough law-and-order conservative, and that we had others on board in support of the Debbie Smith Act who probably wouldn't be characterized that way. However, the promise of this DNA technology is that it will catch the bad guys and free the innocent and that's what unites us. Every time we imprison someone falsely, that means there's another bad guy who is still out there. The frightening reality is that sex offenders have a much greater recidivism rate. I don't believe any of us should rest easy as long as any sex offender is out there because he'll do it again."

Green points to sexual assault statistics and says they can be so horrifying, "at first you don't believe them. We've seen incredible statistics about how often pedophiles strike. When I was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, I wanted to double-check to make sure the numbers weren't missing a decimal point. When you realize how often sexual assaults occur, you realize how unbelievable the scope of the problem is. It is unacceptable. I want the bill to put bad guys away and keep the streets safe. I like this legislation because it empowers law enforcement and health officials by giving them the tools and resources they need."

Green admits that he, like many other policy-makers, was unfamiliar with SANE programs before supporting the Debbie Smith Act. "This legislation explains why SANEs are so very important in not only making sure that DNA evidence is viable for purposes of catching the bad guy, but the process of putting someone away is long, complicated and difficult; unless we take every precaution, we are going to inadvertently set free people who shouldn't be. SANEs are the missing links in the medical and legal process."

Green says his home state of Wisconsin has been ahead of most states in its efforts to process DNA samples and enter them into the national database. He adds, however, that the issue is a federal one. "We know many sex offenders, particularly pedophiles, cross state boundaries. A child molester doesn't stop at the Wisconsin/Illinois border. I have to be concerned about what goes on in every other state. If we don't have a high-quality, well-processed database in Illinois, that affects Illinois first, but it also affects my family in Wisconsin. It's everyone's concern."


Tracking the Rape-Kit Backlog Legislation

HR & SB
THE DEBBIE SMITH ACT

"To make grants to train sexual assault nurse examiners, law enforcement personnel and first responders in the handling of sexual assault cases, to establish minimum standards for forensic evidence collection kits, to carry out DNA analyses of samples from crime scenes and for other purposes."

HR & SB
DNA ANALYSIS BACKLOG ELIMINATION ACT

"To provide additional resources to states to eliminate the backlog on unanalyzed rape kits and to ensure timely analysis of rape kits in the future."

HR

  • 9/10/01: Introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney 
  • 9/10/01: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
  • 9/28/01: Referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime

SB

  • 3/21/02: Introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell
  • 3/21/02: Referred to the Senate Committee 
  • 3/21/02: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

HR

  • 3/13/02: Introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler
  • 3/13/02: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
  • 3/18/02: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime

SB

  • 4/25/02: Introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton
  • 4/25/02: Referred to the Senate Committee
  • 4/25/02: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

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