Tennessee senator, others propose bill to reauthorize bill fighting rape kit backlog

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn joins other senators across the nation in creating a bill reauthorizing legislation acting against rape kit backlog.

The Debbie Smith Act assists state and local law enforcement agencies in processing untested rape kits.

Sen. Blackburn tells a story in support of the reauthorization, describing how if a rape kit had been processed in time, it would have saved a life.

Last year, a school teacher and mother of two young boys was murdered while out on an early morning run in Memphis. In the following days, law enforcement learned that in September 2021, her alleged killer had raped another innocent victim. The rape kit from that 2021 attack was processed and returned the same day the teacher’s body was discovered, with DNA matching that of the alleged killer. Had it not taken a year for Memphis Police to have the kit processed by TBI and receive the results, this woman would be alive today because her killer would have already been behind bars. Reauthorizing the Debbie Smith Act is critical in the fight to end the rape kit backlog and keep dangerous criminals off the streets,” said Senator Blackburn.

The act became a law in 2004, but will expire next year if not reauthorized.

If reauthorized, the program would continue for another five years.

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