No Statute of Limitations

Mission: No Statute of Limitations on rape and sexual abuse crimes for all 50 states. Victims demand access to justice in the criminal & civil court processes

[nostatutelimits]

On 3/16 @NoStatuteLimits Sent an Abstract of a Petition to Remove the Statute of Limitations on Rape to the entire Connecticut Legislature

Petition to the Repeal the Connecticut Criminal and Civil Statutes of Limitations on Rape

Abstract

Why does rape occur in such high numbers? How can such a heinous crime have little or no priority? The state of Connecticut has one of the shortest statute of limitations on rape in the United States, five years for adults. 12 states have at least a minimum of 10 years, and 20 states have no statute of limitations on rape. Only six states have a statute of limitations on rape that is five years or less.

A five year statute of limitations is unfairly narrow given the level of trauma involved in rape cases. It is commonplace in the United States and abroad that rapists regularly escape prosecution solely due to statute limits. In Connecticut, an 18 year old predator can rape an adult victim and five years later at age 23 would be free from any prosecution. This same predator could theoretically continue to rape victims for another 30-50 years, and at each five year increment would again be free from prosecution for previous rapes dating back five years or more.

The majority of rapists go undetected and most have never been convicted of a crime, yet over 90% of these criminals are actually serial rapists (having committed two or more offenses). Individuals who were raped as minors often do not realize they were victims until they are over 40 years of age, unless they were victims of repeated rapes. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) which serves as the standard manual for mental health professionals and clinicians, has long-documented this as a common phenomenon. Their evidence clearly acknowledges an enormous void between the law and the realities of medical and mental health damages incurred by rape victims. Even the Connecticut statute of limitations on rape for minors, 20 years plus the age of majority, is inadequate to catch up with their assailants. And these laws are written as such that most lawyers aren’t even slightly interested in representing victims.

Given the body of knowledge and research that has been available to government officials and law enforcement for decades, it is deplorable that such archaic laws are still on the books. The statute of limitations on rape is a form of oppression, the state cannot deny or place undue burden on a victim seeking assistance and justice. Systemic change is needed at all levels of local and state government, and Connecticut law makers are obligated to eliminate all barriers to justice. Separate rape legislation for specific segments of the population and exemptions are half measures. Poorly executed laws create loopholes that are inevitable and often large enough for even a minimally-skilled defense attorney to easily navigate through.

Rape, for the victim is a life-long punishment; a punishment which is fundamentally reinforced by the greatest portion of institutionalized government and a victim-blaming society. Victims have obstacles that are hard enough to overcome, coupled with a legal system that works against them, it makes justice for these heinous crimes next to impossible to obtain. This is both a civil rights and human rights violation by the state.

One of the oldest and most important public policy issues society continues to struggle with is eradicating rape in our communities. Rape is a societal problem and there needs to be zero tolerance for rapists, and zero tolerance for a criminal justice system that is governed by misguided statute of limitations laws and sentencing guidelines. Rape is grossly under-prosecuted and the time to act is now! Create realistic legislation that protects all citizens and benefits all victims, and remove the Connecticut statutes of limitations on rape.

[nostatutelimits]

Connecticut is One of ONLY 6 States that has an archaic Statute of Limitations on Rape that is 5yrs or less! ‪

[nostatutelimits]

Annie, I Think I Raped A Woman Over 30 Years Ago —

http://www.omaha.com/living/annie-i-think-i-raped-a-woman-over-years-ago/article_332fa473-beaf-5f5e-8b41-74c9a0aced3d.html

First off, it's not "date rape", abolish that term, it's "rape". Today's standards - lack of consent was rape then and it still rape now, only legal enforcement was so laxed then and awareness practically non-existent. It might ruin your marriage - it's very possible you ruined her life if she never got help, or it made her life very difficult and painful to live. Statutes of limitations - I wouldn't worry about those, they are so ridiculously short in most states, and even the states that have no limits are likely to do nothing anyway. I sent a petition (an abstract & a full petition) to remove the statutes of limitations on rape to 195 Connecticut legislators, the CT governor, and the CT attorney general. Not ONE of them responded! Conclusion - anonymous, you got away with life-altering felony crime, you're free and always have been. Many rapists are married and get to live full lives, and most victims will never be heard and they pay the price, that's how this works.

[nostatutelimits]

EXCLUSIVE with Michelle Knight

http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/cleveland/2015/04/22/russ-mitchell-michelle-knight-interview/26216129/

[nostatutelimits]

Michelle Knight Helps Give Other Survivors Strength

http://www.wkyc.com/media/cinematic/video/25846775/michelle-knight-helps-give-other-survivors-strength/

[nostatutelimits]

German Trauma Experts Make The Case Against Prostitution

http://www.catwinternational.org/Home/Article/578-german-trauma-experts-make-the-case-against-prostitution

[nostatutelimits]

Presidential Proclamation | National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 2015

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/01/presidential-proclamation-national-sexual-assault-awareness-and-preventi

[nostatutelimits]

April 12-19 — International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2015!

http://stopstreetharassment.org/?p=18667

[nostatutelimits]

PLEASE SIGN PETITION to Repeal the Connecticut Statutes of Limitations on Rape

Repeal the Connecticut Criminal and Civil Statutes of Limitations on Rape — https://www.change.org/p/connecticut-state-legislature-repeal-the-connecticut-criminal-and-civil-statutes-of-limitation-on-rape#share

[nostatutelimits]

The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault

via @TheJusticeDept

http://nij.gov/multimedia/presenter/presenter-campbell/Pages/welcome.aspx?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=SAAM-neuro

[nostatutelimits]

Unsafe & Harassed In Public Spaces | A National Street Harassment Report

via @StopStHarassmnt

http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2014-National-SSH-Street-Harassment-Report.pdf

[nostatutelimits]

ABSTRACT of the Petition to Repeal the Connecticut Criminal and Civil Statutes of Limitations on Rape

The state of Connecticut has one of the shortest statute of limitations on rape in the United States, five years for adults. 12 states have at least a minimum of 10 years, and 20 states have no statute of limitations on rape. Only six states have a statute of limitations on rape that is five years or less.

The Connecticut statutes of limitation deprive victims of rape and carnal abuse crimes of their constitutional rights, specifically No Statute of Limitations alleges that they deprive them of their substantive due process, procedural due process, equal protection, and first amendment rights. Laws that do not address civil rights, which are human rights, allow discriminatory policies to continue, subsequently denying countless victims access to resources and allowing untold numbers of hard-core criminals to escape justice. Statute limitations on rape laws are not just legal loopholes, they are a vast abyss in which predators go free and are permitted to continue preying on and committing crimes against new victims.

The fact that Connecticut laws are so ill-equipped to actually protect rape victims in realistic scenarios and also force a victim seeking justice to endure an overly burdensome process is an embarrassment of the state. Any legislator who does not support policy that encompasses human rights is not tough on crime, any legislator that is not strong on public safety and public health is not upholding the best interests of the community they are supposed to represent.

There are 39+ million citizens in the United States who have been victims of rape and carnal abuse, the statistics are at pandemic proportions in the United States. Yet violence against women and girls remains one of the most under punished crime in the United States.

The overwhelming majority of rapists are recidivists, equaling many victims over the course of a perpetrator’s lifetime. Statute limitations on rape disables society from rightful protection against offenders. Rape is a societal problem, a public safety issue, a public health hazard, and a mental health issue. The results of these heinous crimes devastate the victim’s quality of life; prohibits them from fully participating in life; and significantly depletes victim, family, and taxpayer resources. Additionally, dealing with law enforcement and the state’s legal process can often revictimize a claimant.

Rape victims are three times more likely to suffer from depression, six times more likely to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, and four times more likely to contemplate suicide.

Overhauling the legal definition of rape to include all persons of all ages and fully repealing the statute limits on rape laws are the first steps to combating this heinous crime. Prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law is another. There is no statute of limitations on murder and there should be no statute of limitations on the heinous crimes of rape and carnal abuse.

No reasonable moral or legal arguments exist that should disable a victim’s civil right to seek justice against their assailants in the state’s criminal and civil court processes for life altering violent crimes. With the exception of murder, rape is the most serious violation of a person’s physical, emotional, and spiritual self that any person can experience.

The time for restorative justice is now. Connecticut has an opportunity to become a model state in the area of crime, public safety, and mental health laws, breaking an outrageous cycle of horrific violence. No Statute of Limitations prays that the honorable Connecticut State Legislature fully repeal the Connecticut Criminal and Civil Statutes of Limitations on Rape.

https://www.change.org/p/connecticut-state-legislature-repeal-the-connecticut-criminal-and-civil-statutes-of-limitation-on-rape

[nostatutelimits]

11/2/1975 — Four articles on “Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape,” written by journalist, activist Susan Brownmiller are prominently featured in the “Washington Post”. A critical book review in the book review section and three related articles on the front page of the Style section. The publication finally brings rape to the national agenda and into American consciousness. The publication finally brings rape to the national agenda and into American consciousness and influences both American and international legal definitions of the crime.

[nostatutelimits]

Street Harassment Is Universal and Age-Old —

http://www.vogue.com/3621015/street-harassment-universal-age-old/

[nostatutelimits]

Rape Victim Voter Suppression in Ohio

November 2, 2014     In 2013, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (CCBOE) took away my right to vote claiming I was improperly registered under the wrong address. On 5/10/13, I contacted CCBOE registration manager Betty Grant Edwards, explaining that I was a victim of a heinous life-altering violent crime, and that I was requesting to use a mail delivery box as my voter registration address because I was seeking protection from the rapists who drugged, kidnapped, and gang-raped me. She informed me that I could attend a board hearing and explain my situation. I told her I was unable to attend the hearing, and even if I could, it would be unlikely that I would want to even explain this to a panel of strangers. The CCBOE continued to send multiple letters to my mailing address and even my home address (which seemed harassing), and then voted to take away my right to vote. As an individual who takes voting very seriously and believes it is all US citizens obligation to vote, I have now missed voting in two elections.     This is just another in a long list civil/human rights violations and problems that one can expect after becoming and on top of being a crime/rape victim. If you are someone who thinks women’s rights under the US constitution, federal, state, and local laws are adequate, and that we do not actually need an Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution, you are grossly under informed and/or misinformed.     To rectify this problem, I called the CCBOE director, Pat McDonald on Monday 10/6/14, and left a detailed message with his assistant Claudia. To date, Mr. McDonald has not called me back; instead Claudia called me back on 10/7/14 and said the matter was referred to assistant civil prosecuting attorney of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Brendan Doyle, for research. On 10/9/14, I had a very lengthy detailed conversation with Mr. Doyle.     Wondering why the CCBOE had not contacted me back after almost four full business weeks, I called Pat McDonald on Thursday 10/30/14, to inquire about my voting status. Claudia said she would get right back to me. On Friday 10/31/14 at 2:50pm (in the 11th hour), Claudia calls me back and informs me that Mr. Doyle claims there is no active criminal case pending (a fact he knew on 10/9) and there is “no legal basis” for my request. I complained about the CCBOE’s untimely response in the matter, which appears to be malfeasance, and thanked them for giving me no time to call in an investigating third party such as a civil rights attorney, a victim’s rights organization, etc. Finding this negligent response preposterous, I called back 10 minutes later and demanded a more detailed written explanation, one that is not unconstitutionally vague. We’ll see what they produce.     Great, more government agencies that have no regard or respect for victims. Apparently, I was almost not even worthy of response. Let’s face facts, there would have been no response if I didn’t call them back; I would have been blown off, just like the police, the IRS, and the local and state governments and officials have all done to me.     Ohio still has poor consumer protection laws, ridiculously poor malpractice protection laws against attorneys, woefully outdated crime victim legislation, and downright backward laws for women and girls protections. So it wouldn’t surprise me that there may not be any Ohio (or even US) legislation addressing victim’s rights within voter registration. Why the CCBOE is consulting a civil prosecutor and not the Ohio Secretary of State’s office to begin with makes no sense, I obviously need more time, legal research, and assistance that won’t be coming from them. What I do know that CCBOE is negligent, and has been instrumental in forcing me to now only have the option of using a provisional ballot, which will likely get tossed due to Jon Husted and the Ohio GOP’s voter suppression laws and tactics.

[nostatutelimits]

US & International Child Trafficking Statistics

http://arkofhopeforchildren.org/issues/child-trafficking-statistics#.Ua4H5YVnGHl

[nostatutelimits]

In 2013, 12 States Either Passed or Considered Revising Statute of Limitations on Child #Rape —

http://forward.com/articles/172412/new-york-may-ease-statute-of-limitations-for-decad/?p=all