COLUMBIA, Mo. — In a story Nov. 20 about the Missouri rape kit backlog, The Associated Press reported erroneously that a review found that nearly 90% of Missouri’s rape kits had not been tested. It was nearly 90% of the state’s backlogged rape kits that had not been tested.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Review: 90% of Missouri’s backlogged rape kits untested
A sweeping review has found that close to 90% of the backlog of Missouri rape kits has never been tested.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Wednesday that only 830 of about 7,000 total kits in the backlog were previously tested.
Rape kits are DNA samplings and other evidence secured via medical procedures conducted immediately after an attack. They can be used by law enforcement and prosecutors to catch and convict rapists.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office began to track the number of untested rape kits in 2017. The agency completed a detailed inventory of kits after receiving help from a federal grant.
The agency estimates it has enough grant money to test at least 1,250 kits. A former judge leading the effort says the office will ask for more money as needed to test every kit.
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Previous story from 2018 below: