A rape kit or rape test kit is a package of items used by medical,police or other personnel for gathering and preserving physical evidence following an instance or allegation of sexual assault. The evidence collected from the victim can aid the criminal rape investigation and the prosecution of a suspected assailant. DNA evidence can have tremendous utility for sexual assault investigations and prosecution by identifying offenders,revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases,and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused.
Ken Wyniemko is one of two former prisoners in Michigan released on DNA evidence with help from the Innocence Project.
Steven Allan Avery is an American convicted murderer from Manitowoc County,Wisconsin,who had previously been wrongfully convicted in 1985 of sexual assault and attempted murder. After serving 18 years of a 32-year sentence,Avery was exonerated by DNA testing and released in 2003,only to be charged with murder two years later.
The Oakland County Child Killer (OCCK) is the name given to the perpetrator(s) responsible for the serial killings of at least four children in Oakland County,Michigan,United States,between 1976 and 1977. The victims were held captive before being killed,and forensic DNA testing has indirectly implicated two suspects,one of whom has since died,with the other serving life in prison for offenses against children. A DNA profile of the main perpetrator was created from samples taken from some of the victims' bodies,but does not match the DNA of anyone named in connection with the case;the perpetrator's identity is unknown.
This is a list of notable overturned convictions in the United States.
The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 provides United States federal government grants to eligible states and units of local government to conduct DNA analyses of backlogged DNA samples collected from victims of crimes and criminal offenders. The Act expands the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and provides legal assistance to survivors of dating violence. Named after sexual assault survivor Debbie Smith,the Act was passed by the 108th Congress as part of larger legislation,the Justice for All Act of 2004,and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30,2004. The Act amended the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000,the DNA Identification Act of 1994,the Violence Against Women Act of 2000,and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Act was reauthorized in 2008,extending the availability of DNA backlog reduction program grants,DNA evidence training and education program grants,and sexual assault forensic exam program grants through fiscal year 2014.
Rape investigation is the procedure to gather facts about a suspected rape,including forensic identification of a perpetrator,type of rape and other details.
Clarence Arnold Elkins Sr. is an American man who was wrongfully convicted of the 1998 rape and murder of his mother-in-law,Judith Johnson,and the rape and assault of his wife's niece,Brooke Sutton. He was convicted solely on the basis of the testimony of his wife's six-year-old niece who testified that Elkins was the perpetrator.
The 2013 Mumbai gang rape,also known as the Shakti Mills gang rape,refers to the incident in which a 22-year-old photojournalist,who was interning with an English-language magazine in Mumbai,was gang-raped by five people including a juvenile. The incident occurred on 22 August 2013,when she had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound,near Mahalaxmi in South Mumbai,with a male colleague on an assignment. The accused had tied up the victim's colleague with belts and raped her. The accused took photos of the victim during the sexual assault,and threatened to release them to social networks if she reported the rape. Later,an eighteen-year-old call centre employee reported that she too had been gang-raped,on 31 July 2013 inside the mills complex.
Me Facing Life:Cyntoia's Story is a documentary film about Cyntoia Brown,a 16-year old sentenced to 51 years for the murder of Johnny Allen. Brown had been forced into prostitution and involuntarily sex trafficked as a minor by Garion "Kut-Throat”McGlothen. Brown claimed she killed Allen in self-defense,adding she feared she was likely to be murdered by him. Prosecutors argued the physical evidence present at the crime scene suggested Allen was asleep at the time of the murder.
Making a Murderer is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery,a man from Manitowoc County,Wisconsin,who served 18 years in prison (1985–2003) after his wrongful conviction for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was later charged with and convicted of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. The connected story is that of Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey,who was accused and convicted as an accessory in the murder of Halbach.
People v. Turner,formally The People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner (2015),was a criminal case in which Brock Allen Turner was convicted by jury trial of three counts of felony sexual assault.
After a sexual assault or rape,victims are often subjected to scrutiny and,in some cases,mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. If there is a criminal trial,victims suffer a loss of privacy,and their credibility may be challenged. Victims may also become the target of slut-shaming,abuse,social stigmatization,sexual slurs and cyberbullying. These factors,contributing to a rape culture,are among some of the reasons that may contribute up to 80% of all rapes going unreported in the U.S,according to a 2016 study done by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Rebecca Campbell is a professor of psychology at Michigan State University. She is known for her research pertaining to sexual assault and violence against women and children and the effects of treatment by law enforcement and medical staff on victims' psychological and physiological well-being. Campbell has been involved in criminal justice research on the investigation of Detroit's untested rape kits,wherein DNA evidence obtained in thousands of rape kits was left in storage and not analyzed. She has received numerous awards for her work including the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Louise Kidder Early Career Award (2000),the American Psychological Association (APA) Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (2008),the APA Division 27 Council on Educational Program's Excellent Educator Award (2015),and the U.S. Department of Justice Vision 21 Crime Victims Research Award (2015).
Siwatu-Salama Ra is an American environmental and racial justice organizer. She is known for standing trial for assault and firearm felonies following an altercation where she displayed an unloaded and legally owned handgun in Michigan,a stand your ground state. Her case has been widely cited as an example of a racist justice system in the United States and highlighting the issues with mandatory minimum sentencing. She gave birth during her time in Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility. In August 2019 she won her appeal and her conviction was reversed.
Dana Michelle Nessel is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 54th Attorney General of Michigan since January 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Donald Murphy is an American suspected serial killer,sex offender and bank robber,convicted of murdering two prostitutes in Detroit in 1980. During this time,several similar murders occurred in the city,presumably committed by two or more killers operating in the area,with Murphy himself confessing to committing at least six of them. However,he was convicted of only two with the available evidence,and sentenced to 15–30 years imprisonment for each murder.
Karen Diane McDonald is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as the prosecuting attorney of Oakland County,Michigan,and formerly as a judge on Michigan's 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Nicole Blank Becker is a Michigan-based lawyer known for being the defense litigator of R&B singer,Robert Sylvester Kelly.
The Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne County is in charge of the office that prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Wayne County,Michigan,United States. The current prosecuting attorney (DA) is Kym L. Worthy.
