My 2 Cents: Oklahoma Awarded Grant To Help Clear Backlog Of Untested Rape Kits

Seven thousand rape kits representing thousands of victims sit untested, collecting dust in law enforcement storage rooms around the state. 

For years, many of them have been there. But Monday, we're celebrating because the federal government has given us the money to help clear the backlog of cases.

The DOJ has awarded Oklahoma $2.4 million a year to tackle the problem.

Two things:

• Are you telling me Oklahoma shouldn't be responsible for its own rape testing?
• And second, we couldn't come up with $800,000 dollars a year to clean up the backlog?

If that relatively small amount of money will put a real dent in the backlog of cases, which I doubt, then shame on us for not doing it years ago.

But even if it costs 10 times that much, I ask you are there that many higher priorities than providing justice to thousands of women who were victims of sexual assault?

A state team called the SAFE Task Force has recommended, and lawmakers have passed, several changes to the way sexual assault evidence is handled and analyzed.

For instance, rape kits generally have to be processed within 20 days now.

The attorney general and others are vowing that once we get caught up on these tests, we'll NEVER get behind on them again.

We need to demand it.

I'm Kelly Ogle and that's My 2 Cents.