July 10, 2018
North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission Executive Director, Lindsey Guice Smith, was appointed by North Carolina Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks as a member of a working group to develop a strategic plan for testing of sexual assault kits. On June 25, 2018, Governor Cooper signed into law S.L. 2018-70 which directed the establishment of a Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System by October 1, 2018. This law followed an audit by the Department of Justice which found that there were 15,160 untested sexual assault kits across North Carolina by the end of 2017. The goal of the working group is to create a process to test all kits that are as of yet untested and to create a tracking system for future testing of all sexual assault kits. Ms. Guice Smith is honored to be a part of this working group and is excited to bring her extensive background in evidence management and neutral criminal investigation to create workable solutions that improve North Carolina’s criminal justice system.
For more information about the North Carolina Department of Justice study, follow this link: http://ncdoj.gov/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=b3384908-121e-4ff7-bbb1-d426721c5d2a&lang=en-US
Session Law 2018-70’s full text can be found here: https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2017/Bills/House/PDF/H945v4.pdf