,
15 tweets,
6 min read
Read on Twitter
1/ Months ago I got a series of texts from a friend I hadn't seen in years. She wanted to alert me to a murder trial in Minneapolis, and how some cold case rape files were involved. Wait, I asked, is this the guy who raped you? motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
2/ @msjpauly reported out a fascinating—and enraging—story about how a serial rapist was allowed to go free time and again, either because victims were ignored, or statutes of limitations denied them justice.
3/ Advances in science, and the hard work of a few @minneapolisPD detectives who kept on it—even in some cases after they retired—finally got him charged for the rape and murder of one girl. BUT
4/ Even though he is being sentenced tomorrow, some of the rapes—including that of my friend—are being excluded from that calculus because though the DNA evidence is clear, he is the rapist, the MO doesn't hew close enough to the charged rape & murder.
5/ So he's finally being brought to justice. And they get some closure, but true justice. But even so it's another example of how states need to update their statute of limitations laws. @IlhanMN has tried. (@SenRonLatz was among those who objected).
6/ ^ not true justice
7/ It is an amazing story of both the failings of the system, and the diligence of some detectives. But mostly it is a story of the bravery of these surviving victims, all of whom talked to us, including audio interviews. Here's my tough and funny friend, Mary Scott Hunter. 
8/ So fight to get all the rape kits tested and put into data bases. Fight to change the laws in states that have absurd statute of limitations laws, with no DNA exceptions:
9/ Darrell Rea is being sentenced for the murder of Lorri Mesedahl tomorrow. As this story will make clear, there could be other victims out there: motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
10/ Thanks to @msjpauly, her editor @apsilverman, and everybody else at @motherjones who worked on this story with great care and sensitivity—including not letting me hover over it. It's just one story of so many like it out there. motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
11/ When the president says that @ejeancarroll is "not his type" I want you to consider how that spin is echoed in evidentiary rulings even when DNA links two or more crimes. My friend's positive cold case rape DNA hit will NOT be factored into Rea's sentencing tomorrow:
12/ My friend did not fit the profiles previously associated with Rea, not a family member or friend of the family, not a sex worker. He broke into the apartment of a total stranger and raped her. Which begs the question, are there more cases like hers out there?
13/ Probably. Serial abusers don't stop. They often look for ways to play the system, whether its laws or the media.
14/ @msjpauly is in Minneapolis right now. Tomorrow Mary Scott, his other accusers, and many of the detectives who cracked this case—despite a system rigged against all of them—will be in the courtroom. For now, I'll leave you with this: motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
15/ Follow Madison's updates to this story here:
