REMINDER: Brad Schimel Let Thousands of Untested Sexual Assault Kits Pile Up
MADISON, Wis. — Appearing yesterday on right-wing talk radio, Brad Schimel attempted to rewrite his dismal record getting justice for survivors of sexual assault, brushing off the thousands of rape kits he let go untested as he sought a “bargain price” on justice for victims. Schimel admitted that clearing the rape kit backlog was a focal point of his campaign—only for Schimel’s Department of Justice to process just nine of over 6,000 untested rape kits during his first two years in office
“Brad Schimel has tried for years to rewrite the history of his shameful failure to deliver justice for victims by allowing a backlog of thousands of sexual assault kits to go untested for years,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund. “As Attorney General, Schimel let violent offenders walk free and even blamed victims for the growing backlog. Try as he might, Brad Schimel can’t escape the truth about his failure to deliver justice for victims.”
Read more about how Brad Schimel botched handling Wisconsin’s rape kit backlog:
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Brad Schimel tested only nine of over 6,000 untested rape kits during his first two years in office, delaying justice for victims of sexual assults—including more than 2,000 children.
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Brad Schimel blamed survivors of sexual assault for the number of untested rape kits, suggesting “victim choices” were a leading cause of the backlog.
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Brad Schimel decided to “wait for a bargain price” to have private labs test rape kits instead of asking for more resources to clear Wisconsin’s kit backlog.
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Brad Schimel blocked efforts to expedite testing and persuaded Republicans in control of the State Legislature to reject efforts to provide the Department of Justice more resources to test the backlog.
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Brad Schimel outright lied about the rape kit backlog in Wisconsin, falsely claiming there was no backlog.
