In September of 2021, Alicia Franklin was raped by a man she met online through a dating app. Franklin reported her rape to the authorities, providing his dating profile and phone number, as well as undergoing a rape kit, says Marc Perrusquia with The Institute for Public Service Reporting. Her rape kit was not tested until nearly a year later, Perrusquia adds, and has since been linked to the DNA of Eliza Fletcher's murderer. Franklin is now suing the Memphis Police Department for not properly investigating her rape.
Eric Barnes hosts a journalist roundtable with Perrusquia, The Memphis Flyer's Toby Sells, and The Daily Memphian's Bill Dries and Abigail Warren. Guests talk about the City of Memphis' backlog of untested rape kits and how government officials are responding.
In addition, guests discuss upcoming elections and a new Tennessee bill that gives the state the right to ban books in schools.