US Supreme Court Strikes Down Maryland Decision Allowing Rapist to Go Free

The US Supreme Court has upheld a Maryland law permitting DNA testing of people arrested for serious crimes. The case, State of Maryland v. King, involved a perpetrator who broke into a 53 year-old woman’s home wearing a scarf over his face, ordered the victim not to look at him, and raped her while holding a gun to her head. The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA), joined by twenty-six other state sexual assault coalitions across the nation, had filed an amicus brief in support of the law. MCASA’s Counsel and Executive Director, Lisae C. Jordan, expressed appreciation for the Supreme Court’s decision, stating  “sexual assault survivors undergo invasive and difficult exams which allow evidence to be collected from intimate places; the King decision will help ensure that this evidence is used to bring rapists to justice.” Read the full press release here.