Governor Tim Walz says he’ll ask the legislature for funding to clear the backlog of untested “rape kits” — evidence that medical professionals collect from sex assault victims which could then be used by prosecutors. The governor says, “At a time, the worst moment of someone’s life, and going through the procedure of a rape kit and then the idea that they would be put in a cooler and stuck somewhere and lost [is] totally unacceptable.”
Walz says he wants evidence kits tested so the state can obtain convictions it owes to victims of sexual assault. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced funding bills earlier this month.