CNN Covers Palin Rape Kit Story (VIDEO)

Multiple newspapers have confirmed reports in blogs that Sarah Palin's town charged rape victims for their forensic exams while she was mayor. Now CNN has covered the story, interviewing the sponsor of a law aimed at ending the practice. He finds it hard to believe this practice could go on without the mayor's knowledge. Watch:

Comments

[Daisy1111]

She took office as Mayor in 1998 which means her city was charging rape victims for the kit until 2000 when the state law stopped the practice. So how many rapes occured in that two-year period? I went and looked it up. Guess how many women were charged for rape kits between 1998 and 2000. ZERO. None. Nada. No rapes in those 2 years.

[IndyStacey]

No, Palin took office as Mayor in 1996. Since you didn't get even the most basic fact correct, your rape statistics are suspect.

The practice of charging victims for rape kits was in place for FOUR YEARS under Palin's watch.

[Daisy1111]

Actually, we're both wrong, I just checked. She won the first election in OCTOBER of 1996 and took office in January 1997. So it was 3 years. IF you read the entire CNN article you'll see the rape kits were paid for out of the city's miscellaneous fund. It was the Chief of Police who wanted to charge victim's INSURANCE COMPANIES after the STATE passed the expense back to the cities. And no one remembers discussing the rape kits with Palin. QUOTE:

"Interviews, review of records show no evidence Palin knew victims were charged."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/21/palin.rape.exams/?iref=hpmostpop

[HopeGirl]

daisy...none of this excuse making works. all it does is humiliates you.

[Daisy1111]

You know what's humiliating - while "O" was in the Illinois senate and to this day, Illinois ALSO CHARGES RAPE VICTIMS for kits. Only those WITHOUT INSURANCE are reimbursed by the state. But you won't see that story here. QUOTE:

“According to the Sexual Assault Emergency Treatment Act, the Illinois Department of Public Aid will reimburse the costs of ER treatment if you do not have public aid or private medical insurance. Under the Illinois Crime Victim’s Compensation Act, if you report the assault to the police within 72 hours of the crime and if you file a claim application within two years of the date of the crime, you can be reimbursed for out-of-pocket medical expenses, loss of earnings, psychological counseling, and loss of support income due to the crime. Reimbursement can be up to $27,000.”

[irishcat]

Did you ever stop to think that having to go through the humiliation and cost of paying for these rape kits may have caused some women to decide not to go through with filing charges, even if they had been raped?

Didn't think so.

[genia]

woa..woa.............and where did you go to find this info? Who would have these records is Wasilla Alaska?
IMO...she charged women victims for the rape kits so that she could then make claim that the percentage of rape has dropped drastically.. To take credit....To make herself look good...to be deceptive...you know, to be republican.

So...I'm curious where one would go to look for this info.....or..wait...did Fox or Rush give you this info ?

[Daisy1111]

I got my stats from the FBI annual reports - google it.

And you state your opinion as fact. Nice try.

[jiml1956]

genia,

I googled -

"crime statistics" wasilla

Uniform Crime Report is an FBI stat, but strangely shows no violent crimes for 1996 thru 1999.

[jiml1956]

The state law did not stop Wasilla from charging for the rape kits. That's the problem in that they ignored the state law.

[PurplePhase]

It's been said morality can't be legislated but that's exactly what the Alaska state government did when they enacted a law to force Wasilla's "community organizer with responsibilities" and her bigoted heartless police chief to absorb the cost of rape kits.

If these jerks value religion so much they should become priests and pastors not politicians and police chiefs.

[FACINGREALIT]

Palin does not support birth control and everyone knows that rape kits contain birth control - so goes the theory that Palin doesn't know since she believes that a morning after bill is akin to abortion.

[HopeGirl]

that would be in alignment with her infantile ego centric way of thinking.

[sawdustinhershoes]

It appears that Palin is very willing to impose stress on women who are raped or who become pregnate through rape. She is not a woman's advocate.

Who knows what reason SHE had for wanting the victim to pay for the rape kits. Maybe she didn't feel that her police should waste their time with women. I wonder what the statistics are for wifebeating in Alaska.

Frankly, it appears that Sarah is not an advocate for anything except Sarah Palin.

To think that Sarah Palin, the mayor of a small town, would be unaware of such an issue involving her police chief and town, is ridiculus. She's lying about this one, just like she's lied about everything else.

[gigi09]

As Alaska turns...

http://blackstarnews.com/?c=135&a=4856

[WFV]

There is no chance she didn't know what was going on with this. If indeed she truly did not know, then she wasn't doing her job well. Either way, this is one of the worst things I have ever heard.

I doubt seriously they were in such financial distress they could not afford $5 to $14K in their budget for basic forensics gathering, particularly in a state with the highest instance of violence toward women.

Was their intention to decrease reporting of such crimes? Or to re-victimize victims?

Either way, this practice is unacceptable and I will never believe she did not know about it.

[ObserverinVancouver]

Apparently, from something I saw recently, the rape kit issue involved the emergency contraceptives included in the kit. In Wasilla's view, paying for the rape kit meant paying for the emergency contraceptive which meant using government money to pay for abortions.

[jiml1956]

Any link for this?

[alexis d]

If that's supposed to be a defense, I'm not impressed with it.

[DRaymond]

Not true. A rape kit contains equipment to be used in the collection, preservation, and mainenance of a chain of custody for the evidence only. There is nothing in it for treatment.

If that was why they voted against it then it only further proves their own ignorance.

[ESerafina42]

They couldn't afford $5-14K/yr, but they could go over $20 million into debt for a new hockey rink that they built WITHOUT BOTHERING TO MAKE SURE THEY OWNED THE LAND, and at least according to what I've read, it's so far out of town that it's mostly deserted.

[XME]

So if you're poor and can't affort the kit, does that mean that your case wasn't important enough to even collect evidence or investigate???

[nicciaugust]

Apparently so. It seems that poor women don't deserve justice in Sarah Palin's world.

[stayinsouth1981]

Apparently, a victim without coverage could apply to be reimbursed for the expense. EXCUSE ME? How many people, when they have gone through that type of trauma, have the ability to make the humiliating move to request that someone review their case and send them a check.

It was said in another post, this is evidence. Since when can a jurisdiction send a victim a bill for collecting evidence of a crime? How barbaric.

[BadTymin]

You mean tell me that people are willing to vote this women in office because she is the modern everyday mom are you kidding me but they wont vote for a black man dats fuzzy math

[sleek]

Palin is a Neanderthal who also only thinks the world is only 6,000 years old. OF COURSE she doesn't think rape is a real crime.

Palin is an abomination.

[Kay72403]

An example of small town values. I've lived in small town Alabama, small ideas, provincial, with lots of bluster and bull.

[mirandawilde]

From what I understand, Sarah Palin is hoping to set up a rape-based economy-

http://www.236.com/video/2008/get_your_war_on_sarah_palin_an_9028.php

[Exusian]

Don't be too quick to praise CNN for covering this. They missed the REAL story, which is that the rape kits include after-the-fact emergency contraception. THAT's what Palin and the Wasilla police chief don't want to pay for, since they see it as paying for abo-rtion. This is in fact yet another battle in the Culture War.

[DRaymond]

Not true, a rape kit contains the items necessary to collect the evidence and to preserve it with a documentable chain of custody until it can be analyzed in the lab. It contains nothing for treatment or counseling.

[sleek]

Palin's lizard-brain reflex probably thinks that it's the woman's fault if she gets raped. You know, the "victim" shouldn't be so flirty, or she shouldn't wear provocative clothing. Certain women are just asking for it.

Palin is grotesque. A monstrosity.

[sleek]

Palin is PRO-RAPE!!

[ESerafina42]

And McCain doesn't want kids to know how to avoid molesters, as evidenced by his criticism of Obama's support of a bill that would teach them how.

[rabprevent]

SO sarah wants to charge women for use of a rape kit? how republican of her?

I think Obama next add needs to include the Keating five either that or the moveon.org needs to do a national campaign.

vote no to the disgusting mccain and all his cronies

[OBAMAthePRESIDENT]

So let's get this straight:

Wasilla is the METH CAPITAL of Alaska

Alaska is the RAPE CAPITAL of the US

ALASKA is the STD capital of the US

Nice work as Mayor and Governor DUDE!! This woman is an absolute mess. She lacks on every angle what it really takes to serve the public.

If John McCain and this woman get in office, Americans will have to answer for it.

[sleek]

Alaska is a primitive backwater.
Even Alaskans know it, that's why they get their college educations in the lower 48.