Palin Allowed Billing Of Rape Victims For Forensic Exams

During Palin’s tenure as mayor of Wasilla, the town ‘billed sexual assault victims…for the cost of rape kits and forensic examinations.’ Palin Allowed Billing Of Rape Victims For Forensic ExamsBy Cliff Montgomery – Sept. 15th, 2008As running mate for Republican presidential nominee John McCain (R-AZ), Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has worked to portray herself as a role model for women. But during her tenure as  mayor of Wasilla, the little town of a few thousand inhabitants “billed sexual assault victims and their insurance companies for the cost of rape kits and forensic examinations,” stated an Associated Press story on Friday.Palin served as Wasilla’s mayor for four years before the billing of apparent rape victims was finally stopped–but it wasn’t stopped by Palin. The charges only ended after horrified state lawmakers got wind of them in 2000, and passed a law which forced the tiny town to end the practice.Alaska state lawmakers in 2000 discovered that the Wasilla police department was “charging sexual assault victims for the kits and the forensic exams, which cost from $300 to $1,200 at the time,” according to AP.The kit in question was “a package of sample containers, swabs and other medical supplies,” which “is used to collect evidence from women after they are attacked,” stated the AP report.Tony Knowles, who was Alaska’s governor in 2000, told reporters on Thursday that Mayor Palin’s town was the only one in the state which was “charging rape victims for the cost of doing the law enforcement necessary for solving the crime,” according to the AP article.The state government outlawed the charges over the staunch objections of Charlie Fannon, then Wasilla’s police chief. Fannon cried that without the billings, the town’s government would be forced to produce enough money to both purchase the rape kits and perform the exams.It seemed to escape Wasilla Police Chief Fannon that the protection of law-abiding citizens from those who harm them is the sole reason Americans pay taxes or put up with a government in the first place.Former Democratic House member Eric Croft, the person who sponsored the bill ending Wasilla’s bizarre charges, told AP that then-Mayor Palin was almost certainly aware of her town’s billings of apparent rape victims.Maria Comella, a McCain-Palin campaign spin doctor, claimed to AP that Palin “does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test.” To say otherwise, added Comella, is a “misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice.”Comella also told AP that Governor Palin has done a number of things to “tackle the problem[s] of sexual assault and rape.” But apparently AP did not push Comella to produce a single, verifiable instance in which Palin clearly has pushed for legislation designed to protect the rights of rape or sexual assault victims. In any case, AP did not provide such a proof.What is clear is that a politician–and those paid to provide the best spin–will always claim to stand for the most thoughtful, responsible values and ideals of the people.But it’s what a politician actually does–or, in this case, what that person clearly fails to do–that reveals who he or she really is.A mayor who fails to stop a reprehensible law enforcement practice in her own town, one which charges apparent rape victims for the collection of evidence against their apparent rapists, may claim to have failed women and children out of honest ignorance. But only if that politician admits to a dangerous incompetence.Any other reason for such a failure is too disturbing for words.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!