Special legislative committee to study state’s rape kit backlog
A nearly year-long turn-around time in testing allowed Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer to remain free after he was identified as a suspect in a 2021 rape for which he is now charged. (Karen Pulfer Focht/The Daily Memphian file)
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The Institute for Public Service Reporting
The Institute for Public Service Reporting is based at the University of Memphis and supported financially by U of M, private grants and donations made through the University Foundation. Its work is published by The Daily Memphian through a paid-use agreement.
The amount of time needed to process a rape kit at TBI’s West Tennessee crime lab in Jackson ranged from 33 to 49 weeks over the past year. The statewide backlog was up to more than 950 kits awaiting testing as of last month.
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Eliza Fletcher rape kit testing Antonio Parkinson truth in sentencingIn partnership with
The Institute for Public Service Reporting is based at the University of Memphis and supported financially by U of M, private grants and donations made through the University Foundation. Its work is published by The Daily Memphian through a paid-use agreement.
Marc Perrusquia
Marc Perrusquia is the director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis, where graduate students learn investigative and explanatory journalism skills working alongside professionals. He's won numerous state and national awards for government watchdog, social justice and political reporting. Follow the Institute on Facebook or Twitter @psr_memphis.
Ben Wheeler
Ben Wheeler is an investigative reporter and is a member of The Daily Memphian’s public safety reporting team. He previously worked at the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan and Herald-Citizen.
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