State Drops Time Limit in Rape Cases With DNA

Massachusetts is preparing to change one of the country's most restrictive deadlines for prosecuting rape. Gov. Maura Healey said she will sign a budget bill that lets prosecutors bring charges at any time if a suspect is later identified through DNA—even after the current 15-year limit for cases involving adult victims has run out. The change would take effect as soon as Healey signs the $63.4 billion spending plan, ProPublica reports, which she's pledged to do by July 11. Healey pushed for the shift after a WBUR/ProPublica investigation found that roughly 47 other states give prosecutors more time in rape and similar sexual assault cases.

Survivors and Democratic state Rep. Adam Scanlon spent years lobbying for a DNA carveout, facing opposition from defense attorneys who warned about fairness concerns in very old cases. Under the new rules, prosecutors must still act within 15 years if DNA hits before that window closes, but matches that surface later would no longer be an automatic dead end. One survivor, whose case was dropped after a 17-year-delayed DNA match, called the pending law a step toward trust, safety, and justice. Healey said she was driven to advocate for the change after hearing the voices of survivors of sex crimes, often in public testimony or news reports, per WCVB.