Hi Reader,

In 2021, ProPublica published the extraordinary story of a doctor who began quietly preserving DNA evidence from rape victims, starting in the 1970s, even though nothing could be done with the samples at the time. The doctor believed science would eventually catch up. Decades later, Baltimore police began using the samples, one at a time, to connect cases together, reshape conventional wisdom about rapists and solve more than 80 cold cases. But even then, only a sliver of the doctor’s samples had been tested and the rest were still sitting in the hospital. Police staffing shortages, budgetary constraints, evidence backlogs and more made it difficult for law enforcement to prioritize acquiring and testing the full trove of evidence.

But after ProPublica’s story, a Maryland law was passed classifying the slides as official rape evidence and requiring the police department to count them among its rape kit backlog and retain them. From those slides, evidence collected from five women between 1978 and 1986 helped detectives locate and arrest an alleged serial rapist just last month.

This series is a powerful illustration of ProPublica’s mission to use the moral force of investigative journalism to shine a light on injustice and spur change. Our reporters are able to follow stories like this because readers like you support us.

As a nonprofit newsroom, we turn to individuals to help pay for our journalism and it works. ProPublica’s two-week fall member drive is over on Friday. We’ve heard from a few thousand people so far, but we still need to hear from you. Join us today and stand up for the incredible power of journalism that gets results.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican