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TX Law Bypasses Statute of Limitations For Old Sex Assualt Cases

By Corey Rayburnyung

The Wall Street Journal has an article about a new Texas law which allows prosecutors and parole boards to link DNA evidence to suspects in sex assault cases, despite the fact that the statute of limitations has expired and the suspect was never tried. From the article:Supporters of the law, the first of its kind in the country, hope it means that suspects in those old cases will face more-vigorous prosecutions and sterner parole boards should they find themselves in trouble with the law again. Opponents say the law could rob suspects of due-process rights.The new Texas law was conceived and championed by a small group of rape survivors who had joined a Dallas Police Department support group launched as part of the city's cold-case project. Reopening old cases also can reopen emotional wounds, and though the women were grateful the police were trying to identify their attackers, for many that wasn't enough...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sex Crimes on August 31, 2009 (boomark / email).