TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Sep 16, 2022

Rape kits in Tennessee can sit for nearly a year before getting tested, while the rapist is free to attack again, WKRN reports. Yesterday, state Democrats promised legislation to “fully fund” the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to eliminate that backlog. The issue recently resurfaced in the news after Memphis kindergarten teacher Eliza Fletcher was killed, and DNA from her crime scene matched a 2021 rape. The earlier kit had been sitting in a lab for nearly a year before it was tested. Memphis police blamed the TBI while the TBI blamed Memphis police for not ordering “rushed” testing. Ultimately though, the TBI confirmed a typical case might not be tested for a year because they do not have enough staff.