Bill to Address TBI Rape Kit Backlog Dies on House Floor

A bill that would have required the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to test all rape kits submitted to the law enforcement body within 30 days has died on the floor of the Tennessee House.

HB 0104 did not pass the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee’s proposed budget bill.

“As introduced, requires the bureau to perform forensic analysis of sexual assault evidence collection kits within 30 days of the bureau’s receipt of the sexual assault evidence collection kit from a law enforcement agency; requires the bureau to submit a plan for eliminating any existing backlog of sexual assault evidence collection kits waiting for analysis; requires the bureau to expunge a DNA record from a local, state, or national DNA database under certain circumstances,” according to the bill.

The bill was introduced by State Representative Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis).

The issue was raised in September 2022 when teacher Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped and murdered in Memphis.

The suspect in that case, called Cleotha Abston, was subsequently charged with the sexual assault of another woman in September of 2021 while in custody for Fletcher’s alleged murder.

Observers noted that if the Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) in Abston’s alleged 2021 rape had been tested in a timely manner, he would likely have been in prison at the time when he allegedly kidnapped and murdered Fletcher.

HB 1040 was meant to address the concern that other such cases could be prevented.

“An official CODIS hit was not received until after the unfortunate event that occurred on September 2, 2022,” the Memphis Police Department (MPD) said at the time. “Probable cause to make a physical arrest of any suspect did not exist until after the CODIS hit had been received.”

Also at the time, TBI said that “… the evidence was put into the queue of unknown assailant kits, as no request was made for TBI analysis to be expedited, and no suspect information or DNA standard was included in the submission.”

TBI told The Tennessee Star in September that the correct process was followed in testing the SAK in Abston’s alleged 2021 rape but that it was significantly backlogged.

TBI said:

On Sunday, September 4^th, during the active investigation into the abduction of Eliza Fletcher, TBI was made aware by the Memphis Police Department of a sexual assault kit submission that might be linked to an unrelated open MPD investigation into a sexual assault that occurred in September of 2021 in which Cleotha Abston may have been a suspect. Memphis Police submitted the SAK on September 23, 2021, and the evidence was put into the queue of unknown assailant kits, as no request was made for TBI analysis to be expedited, and no suspect information or DNA standard was included in the submission.

It later told The Star:

The Jackson Crime Lab’s average turnaround times for SAKs ranged from approximately 33 weeks to 49 weeks between September 2021 and August 2022. The length of time to work these cases is attributed to the workload of the four scientists assigned to this unit. These forensic scientists work every biological evidence submission, ranging from homicides to SAKs, to robberies, assaults, and break-ins. In 2021, that included 602 evidence submissions.  These scientists are also responsible for responding to crime scenes when necessary and testifying in every court hearing and trial associated with their casework.

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Building” by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.