Statute

Your honor, the statute of limitations for rape in the state of Minnesota is 3 years. A woman is raped and the next day she cannot move in fear of breaking into a thousand pieces. She feels worthless and her body is no longer her own. Day 2, she is sobbing, throbbing in pain under the covers, afraid. Day 7, work calls, she hasn't been at work in a week. Her boss is furious. Day 8, her family tries to figure out why their daughter, their mother, their sister isn't breathing, isn't living, the way that she used to. Day 11, denial, denial, denial. Day 23, the physical wounds have healed but scars have taken their place. Day 24, her boss calls and says to her “if you do not come to work tomorrow you are fired.” She is terrified by his voice. Day 30, she wakes up nauseous, calls into work sick. Day 32, she cannot stop vomiting. Day 36, she buys a pregnancy test. Day 40, it's positive. Day 45, her parents disown her for carrying a bastard child and she cannot stop crying to explain. Statistics show that 2 out of 3 rape victims were raped by people they knew. Day 50, her bump begins to show and he finds out. Day 60, she has to make the decision whether or not to spend the rest of her life with her rapist's child. Day 66, she picks up an abortion pamphlet at work. Month 9, she gives birth. Year 1, she loves her baby girl, but her very existence reminds her of the cold. Year 3, he tries to gain custody and wins. I want to ask you. Does a crime get lesser as time goes on? In the United States, someone becomes a sexual assault victim every 107 seconds. The fact remains that out of every 1000 rapes, 994 perpetrators walk free. And yet still we wonder why it is so hard for a sexual assault victim to come forward. I ask you to think of the thousands of crimes that this court had deemed non-important because of an expiration date. Your honor, I urge you to vote for the repeal of this statute so that justice, where justice is due, can prevail.

Sincerly, Ghina. F