In Georgia, serious violent crimes for which a life sentence can be imposed generally must be prosecuted within seven years. Rape is an exception though where the State has 15 years to bring charges. However, the law currently provides for no statute of limitations in cases where DNA is used to identify the accused. So, in those cases, the prosecution can be brought at any time. Now, SB 287 is being introduced to remove the statute of limitations in all rape cases.Pursuant to SB 287, a bill introduced in the Georgia legislature in early 2020, charges of rape, aggravated sexual battery, and aggravated sodomy could be pursued at any time, no matter how long has passed between the alleged crime and the indictment. Supporters of the bill believe it is a logical extension of the current law, since there is no statute of limitation with respect to any of these offenses anyway in cases involving DNA.However, it is cases without DNA where a statute of limitations becomes so important. Without any sort of physical evidence to either prove or disprove the allegations, the defendant’s ability to defend himself becomes significantly compromised over the passage of time. While it’s easy to sympathize with rape victims, eliminating the statute of limitations for rape has serious implications for the accused. Statutes of limitations exist to ensure that convictions are based on competent evidence and that access to this evidence will be available to the parties. When removed, the ability to obtain evidence naturally suffers and, in turn, the likelihood of false convictions increases. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/darrion-aufderhar/support