Governor McCrory Gubernatorial Debate 3 Fact Sheet Part 4 | Eastern NC Now

    Press Release:

On Roy Cooper's Watch, S.B.I. Rape Kit, Crime Lab Backlogs Were At An All-Time High

    Roy Cooper claims he fixed the problems at the crime lab, but independent fact-checkers give his claims a "red light" on the fact-checking scale: "Roy Cooper's crime lab "still experiences long processing times." (WRAL, 9/8/2016)

    Last year, Winston-Salem, fed up with years-long state crime lab delays, decided to pay for its own. (Bertrand M. Gutierrez, "City contracts with private firm to open crime lab here," Winston-Salem-Journal, 1/4/2015)

• "Blood-alcohol and drug evidence that took months-sometimes years-to test at the State Crime Lab will be tested within days..." (Bertrand M. Gutierrez, "City contracts with private firm to open crime lab here," Winston-Salem-Journal, 1/4/2015)

    There are still thousands of untested rape kits across North Carolina and prosecutors have to wait up to two years to receive evidence test results from Cooper's crime lab:

• "NC rape victims waiting 2 years for DNA test results" (WECT, 6/22/2015)
• "Backlogs in the SBI crime lab are a problem from the mountains to the coast." (Kinston Free Press, 8/9/2015)

    Crime lab delays mean prosecutors have had to delay criminal cases and even drop charges against suspects as criminals walk free:

• "Officials: Backlog at NC crime lab leads to canceled prosecutions" (Winston-Salem Journal, 1/12/2015)
• "Rapists Go Free While Rape Kits Go Untested" (The Atlantic, 2/24/2015)
• "The wait time doesn't just add to the pain and suffering. In many cases, it can cost victims a conviction" (WECT, 6/22/15)
• "Crime lab backlog... stall local murder cases" (High Point Enterprise, 1/3/2015)
• "Justice delayed: Many felony cases remain unresolved for years" (Kinston Free Press, 8/9/2015)

    These delays impact prosecutors' ability to charge DWI cases and get habitual drunk drivers out from behind the wheel:

• "Impaired drivers walk as crime lab lingers" (Haywood County Mountaineer, 2/2/2015)
• "6 DWIs in 16 months and still driving?" (Column: Asheville Citizen-Times, 2/13/16)
• "Delay in blood testing has created major backlog of DWI cases" (Winston Salem Journal, August 10, 2013)

    When Roy Cooper supervised the State Bureau of Investigations, a 2002 study commissioned by his Democrat colleague and then-state senator Kay Hagan found that as many as 20,000 rape kits were left un-investigated. ("Rape's evidence gathers dust," Associated Press, 11/19/2002)

• "Unless there was a known suspect, the State Bureau of Investigation refused to analyze the DNA in rape kits." (Cullen Crowder, "SBI hopes to make dent in number of unsolved rape cases," WRAL, 1/9/2004)

Roy Cooper Voted To Raise Taxes On North Carolina Families And Businesses By $9 Billion

    In his 14 years as a state legislator, Roy Cooper voted for $9 billion in higher taxes. (Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina; Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of North Carolina)

    Cooper voted to raised or created dozens of new taxes, including votes to:

• Raise the sales tax by 33%, from 3% to 4%. (S.L. 1991-689, Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of State of North Carolina)
• Increase taxes on businesses with a nearly 30% increase in the corporate income tax. (Report: Roby B. Sawyers "The history of state and local taxes in North Carolina - changes in sources and burdens," North Carolina State University, 11/28/2006)
• Make families pay more with a 10% increase in the personal income tax. (Report: Roby B. Sawyers "The history of state and local taxes in North Carolina - changes in sources and burdens," North Carolina State University, 11/28/2006)
• Hike gasoline taxes. (S.L. 1991-538, Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of State of North Carolina)
• Raise taxes on real estate transactions. (S.L. 1991-538, Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of State of North Carolina)

• Contact: The Pat McCrory Committee
•     media@patmccrory.com