Victim Wants to Promote Hope: Sacramento Bee writer Jennifer Garza reports on the survival of Carmina Salcido, whose father attempted to kill her when she was 3 years old. On April 14, 1989, 28-year-old Ramon Salcido, went on a killing spree to murder his wife, two daughters, his mother-in-law, two young sisters-in-law, and his boss. He also shot another co-worker and slashed Carmina's throat. Carmina lay at the county dump for 36 hours, only surviving because her head had fallen forward and kept her airway intact long enough for the blood to congeal and seal it off. In November 1990, Ramon was convicted of murder and other crimes and was sent to death row at San Quentin State Prison. Carmina used to visit her father in prison, but eventually stopped. She says that Ramon never took responsibility for his actions. It has been years since her father's killing spree and Carmina is now writing a book and telling her story, hoping it will inspire other victims to never give up hope. Carmina says, "I think there is a reason I survived and that's to tell my story, to show that people can live through the horrible things that can happen."
Backlogged Rape Kits: CNN writer Stephanie Chen reports on the rape kit backlog problem plaguing our nation. The man who raped Lavinia Masters when she was 13 years old will never be prosecuted because the DNA results came after the statute of limitations had run. She was raped in 1985 and her rape kit sat idle until 2005. In 2005, the Dallas Police Department re-opened her case and matched the old DNA to samples from a man who was already serving time in prison for unrelated crimes - including sexual assault. Government officials say the reason for the backlog is that crime labs are overwhelmed and underfunded. Victim advocate groups claim that the kits go untested because law enforcement fail to make rape cases a priority. Most cities have large DNA backlogs. In Houston, Texas and Chicago, Illinois, crime labs have about 1,000 rape kits untested. However, some cities make it a priority to test every rape kit, and consider a kit untested for 30 days a backlog. New York City requires every kit to be tested, and has seen its arrest rate jump from 30 to 70 percent since 2003. Victim advocate groups say the best way to get the kit tested is to be persistent, and constantly ask for updates. There is hope that the backlog problem will diminish. In 2004, congress passed the Debbie Smith Act, providing more than a billion dollars to improve DNA testing procedures and reduce backlog.
Backlogged Rape Kits: CNN writer Stephanie Chen reports on the rape kit backlog problem plaguing our nation. The man who raped Lavinia Masters when she was 13 years old will never be prosecuted because the DNA results came after the statute of limitations had run. She was raped in 1985 and her rape kit sat idle until 2005. In 2005, the Dallas Police Department re-opened her case and matched the old DNA to samples from a man who was already serving time in prison for unrelated crimes - including sexual assault. Government officials say the reason for the backlog is that crime labs are overwhelmed and underfunded. Victim advocate groups claim that the kits go untested because law enforcement fail to make rape cases a priority. Most cities have large DNA backlogs. In Houston, Texas and Chicago, Illinois, crime labs have about 1,000 rape kits untested. However, some cities make it a priority to test every rape kit, and consider a kit untested for 30 days a backlog. New York City requires every kit to be tested, and has seen its arrest rate jump from 30 to 70 percent since 2003. Victim advocate groups say the best way to get the kit tested is to be persistent, and constantly ask for updates. There is hope that the backlog problem will diminish. In 2004, congress passed the Debbie Smith Act, providing more than a billion dollars to improve DNA testing procedures and reduce backlog.
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