Justice on hold: Lawmakers race to fix Colorado’s rape kit backlog
By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
A backlog of 1,369 untested sexual assault kits at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation delays justice and drives significant costs, per a June 2025 report from the Common Sense Institute. Authored by former Denver DA Mitch Morrissey and Senior Analyst Erik Gamm, the report estimates clearing this backlog could prevent 1,481 crimes—including 1,030 sexual assaults—and save Colorado $234.7 million.
The Yvonne “Missy” Woods scandal, involving manipulated DNA in over a thousand cases since 2014, worsened this crisis, exposing gaps in CBI’s processes.
Two bills, HB25-1275 and SB25-304, address these issues, as Rep. Matt Soper (R-Delta), co-sponsor of HB25-1275, detailed in a Rocky Mountain Voice interview.
The Wo...