Recent DNA testing related to the rape and murder of a 14-year old girl 20 years ago may exonerate the five young men who were charged and convicted of the crime. The DNA testing of evidence in the case of Cateresa Matthews instead links the crime to a recently paroled man who lived near Matthews at the time and has a conviction for rape. That man was taken into custody this week on a drug charge and has not been charged yet for Matthews murder. more ›

Thanks to new legislation, a backlog of untested rape kits in Illinois could finally be sent to crime labs and tested. According to the Chicago Tribune, various police departments statewide have been sitting on more than 4,000 untested kits. Different departments have different reasons for not sending the kits to crime labs, including when a prosecutor declines to press charges, if a victim has recanted allegations or when a victim doesn’t want to sign a complaint. In an interview with the Tribune, deputy attorney general for criminal justice Mike Hood also pointed out that Illinois currently has no state protocol for handling rape kits. more ›

In a haunting story detailing the backlog of DNA evidence overwhelming the Chicago Police Department, the Tribune reports police had DNA evidence to arrest an alleged serial rapist a year before he was finally apprehended. more ›

Although Michael Mermel is head of the Criminal Division at the Lake County state’s attorney’s office, he does not seem to understand what DNA is. The Tribune looks at three different cases where Mermel continues to prosecute the suspect, even though DNA evidence indicates that the person is not a viable suspect. more ›