The Daily Populous Thursday January 22nd, 2026 day edition
Authored by newjersey.news12.com and submitted by ILikeNeurons

A Kane In Your Corner investigation has now led to permanent change for survivors of sexual assault.

Moments before leaving office, outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law requiring law enforcement to test all rape kits that survivors want tested.

The law was the result of a three-year News 12 investigation, “Victims of the System,” which found that even when survivors wanted their rape kits tested, it was not happening a third of the time. New Jersey was one of only a handful of states that allowed prosecutors to refuse to test kits that survivors wanted tested. Survivors of sexual assault said their untested kits made them feel like law enforcement had taken their assaults seriously.

But now, that should never happen again.

“I feel wonderful,” says Lena Morrison, one of the survivors interviewed by Kane In Your Corner.

Morrison says she was raped inside a dorm room at Ramapo University. Prosecutors had declined to pursue the case, and because of that, her rape kit was never tested.

Morrison is now hopeful no future survivor will have to endure what she did.

“This is exactly what I wanted since the beginning,” Morrison says. “I just wanted something good come out of this experience and just to know that for future victims, hopefully this is going to make a difference.”

evildrew on January 22nd, 2026 at 05:50 UTC »

Can someone ELI5 why someone would not want their kit tested? Seems like it opens the door for some manipulation.

Lonely_Noyaaa on January 22nd, 2026 at 05:23 UTC »

This is exactly the kind of common sense change that should never have taken years to pass. Letting critical evidence go untested was unjust and left victims without closure for far too long. Every survivor deserves to have their case taken seriously.

ILikeNeurons on January 22nd, 2026 at 04:46 UTC »

A high probability of apprehension by law enforcement is critical to deterrence. DNA evidence is an incredibly powerful tool to solve rapes. DNA evidence has revealed that serial offenders often target strangers and non-strangers, meaning it is imperative to submit DNA evidence to CODIS even if the offender's identity is known. Offending patterns are not a consistently reliable link across assaults. Delays in testing these kits can lead to tragedy.

Alabama, California, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wyoming do not mandate the testing of backlogged kits. The U.S. DoJ and American Bar Association recommend testing all rape kits, even when the statute of limitations (if there is one) has expired. Doing so can help catch more serial offenders, as old kits can help corroborate current victims' cases.

Alabama, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming do not mandate the timely testing of new kits.

Write your lawmakers to require all rape kits be tested!

https://endthebacklog.org/take-action/advocate-state