A bill to help address Florida’s untested rape kits backlog has passed the full Florida Senate.
Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Fort Myers) is the bill’s sponsor.
“An [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] audit found 13,436 rape kits were backlogged and untested,” she said. “Those were individuals who were the victims of terrible crimes against them. The evidence was collected and then this evidence just sat on shelves, and of those 13,400 kits, about 9,484 kits should have been submitted for testing.”
So, she says her bill is pretty simple.
“It says the evidence has to be submitted within 30 days, and within 120 days, the evidence has to be tested,” Benacquisto added.
Meanwhile, its House companion is already poised to be taken up on the floor.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.
