Men can't be charged in rapes despite DNA links

[WriteDown]

Source: Dallas Morning News

He raped a 12-year-old girl at knifepoint more than two decades ago. Now police say they know who he is.

But he won't be arrested. He won't face a judge or jury. He won't even need to apologize.
Also Online

Dewayne Douglas Willis, 47, will complete his sentence for unrelated theft and burglary charges next month – and walk out of prison a free man.

Dallas police say he is one of six men recently linked to rape cases from the 1980s through DNA profiles or fingerprints. But authorities say it is impossible to prosecute them because of an old statute of limitations...

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/092408dnmetnojustice.19e0128.html?npc

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Interesting. Although this is the right decision judicially, it is disheartening. Shows that DNA works both ways though.

[BlooInBloo]

1. The bad side of having statutes of limitations. Sigh.

[Warpy]

2. There is no statute of limitations for murder

and there shouldn't be one for rape.

[Xithras]

3. There isn't one anymore in most states.

Most states today have waivers on rape cases where DNA is present, to prevent this sort of thing from happening. The problem with this case is that the rape happened in 1983, long before DNA became important to these cases, and before the laws were changed to take it into account.

Ex post facto prohibitions state that you can only be punished under the laws that existed at the time you committed an offense. In 1983, those laws included a 5 year statute of limitations.

[ReadTomPaine]

4. The solution to this is to loudly and publicly hang the crime around his neck forever.

A few phone calls to the local papers or LE ahead of time wherever he goes should take care of the situation nicely. He's hardly a man of means, so he won't be going far. There are lots of other organizations that would be willing to assist in such endeavors as well.

[derby378]

5. Might I suggest a one-way ticket to a ghost town in West Texas?

Just load him up on a Greyhound, haul his ass to a failed town that consists of an abandoned gas station with a nearby stream, and drop him off with a week's worth of MREs and 50 cents so he can call someone who cares.