The human toll of Colorado’s sexual assault evidence backlog

As of late February, 1,407 people in Colorado are waiting for DNA results from their sexual assault cases -- some of them for more than a year. Without those results, criminal investigations can stall out and victims are left in a difficult state of limbo. Colorado lawmakers have taken up the issue this legislative session — and one of their own is a part of this backlog.

CPR’s Bente Birkeland and RMPBS’ Andrea Kramar examine the factors that have bogged down testing, how lawmakers and officials are trying to fix it, and the human toll of it all.

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. This episode was edited by Megan Verlee and sound designed and engineered by Shane Rumsey. Our theme music is by Brad Turner.