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Detroit plays crucial role in Mariska Hargitay-produced documentary on untested rape kits

Detroit Free Press - 4/8/2018

April 08--Near the beginning of "I Am Evidence," a woman talks about what happened to the rape kit taken after she was sexually assaulted.

"I am evidence, literally. My name is on a box, on a shelf, that's never been tested," says Ericka Murria to the camera, the pain of feeling ignored and forgotten written on her face.

The Detroit mother and activist was 21 when she became another number in the city's huge backlog of untested rape kits. Now, at 34, she is one of four women whose stories are a focus of a documentary produced by "Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay.

"I Am Evidence" will be screened April 15 at the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It's part of Freep Film Festival, which kicks off April 11.

Hargitay, who's also featured in the documentary, will be in the Motor City for the event and join a post-show discussion led by Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley. The panel is scheduled to include Murria, directors Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir, and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, another important voice in the film.

A day later, on April 16, "I Am Evidence" premieres on HBO.

Powerful, infuriating and often deeply moving, "I Am Evidence" exposes the national trend of untested rape kits that stretches coast to coast. As the filmmakers reveal through a mix of personal accounts and in-depth reporting, each languishing DNA sample represents a potential chance to solve crimes, prevent more women from being attacked, connect a serial rapist's trail of violence or exonerate the falsely accused.

But "I Am Evidence" is about much more than a bureaucratic mess. It tackles the systemic problems in an American law enforcement system where victim-blaming still occurs and reports of sexual assault aren't taken seriously enough, especially if they come from women of color or low-income status.

While the movie covers extensively how Cleveland and Los Angeles have dealt with the issue, Detroit plays a particularly important role.

That's partly because of Worthy's prominent efforts to address Detroit's backlog -- a quest that brought her together on the same mission with the Emmy-winning Hargitay.

As the filmmakers detail, Worthy discovered through a staffer in 2009 that more than 11,300 rape kits were sitting untested in a Detroit Police storage building -- some for longer than a decade.

With help from groups like the Michigan Women's Foundation, enough money was raised to send those kits for the testing they deserved. The last of those backlogged kits, numbering roughly 600, are in the midst of being processed.

During an interview about the festival screening, Worthy says she knew from the second she found out about the backlog it would become her mission.

"It really isn't a matter of a commitment," said Worthy of the nine-year quest. "It's really, quite frankly, a matter of doing what's right."

So far in Detroit, the testing has produced crucial results: 130 rapists have been convicted, more than 270 cases are under investigation and more than 800 serial sex offenders have been identified.

Worthy stresses, however, that there is more to be done. "Testing is only the first step. That's a very important step, but we still have to continue to investigate and prosecute. We estimate that we're probably three to five years from the completions of all the prosecutions we can possibly prosecute."

The film gives a behind-the-scenes look at Hargitay visiting Detroit and going with Worthy to the dilapidated building that formerly housed the languishing rape kits.

Back in 2010, Worthy was in Washington, D.C. testifying to Congress on the backlog when she found herself one seat away from Hargitay, who was there for the same reason.

Worthy asked Hargitay if she would come to Detroit to help raise awareness and money for rape-kit testing in the financially troubled city.

Says Worthy, "It was all divinely ordered."

Life imitates art

Hargitay's role since 1999 as Detective Olivia Benson, dedicated solver of sex crimes on "Law & Order: SVU," has made her more than just a TV icon for female viewers. It inspired many of them to open up to her about assaults they had experienced.

The actress, whose character is now commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit, started the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 to spread education about sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse and help empower survivors. One of its programs, End the Backlog, is aimed specifically at the problem of untested rape kits.

In news clips in "I Am Evidence," Hargitay is shown telling the congressional committee: "For a survivor to come forward, to muster that courage, and then have nothing done about it, what are we saying? We're saying you don't matter."

The film took about four years to make under the direction of Adlesic and Gandbhir, who are both documentary filmmakers drawn to issues of social justice.

Adlesic, who produced the acclaimed fracking documentaries "Gasland" and "Gasland Part II," was friends with Hargitay from her lengthy stint as a location manager for "Law & Order: SVU." Their conversations about making a doc together led to "I Am Evidence."

According to Gandbhir, the idea was always to devote a large portion of the film to real-life women who represent the faces behind the rape kits.

"The survivors who were willing to tell us so bravely their stories really needed to drive the narrative. ... It was really important that their voices be heard and (that) we gave them a platform," says Gandbhir.

Murria, a longtime community activist on issues of sexual assault and domestic violence, says she turned down requests several times to be interviewed about her untested rape kit for the film before deciding to cooperate.

"When I talked about it for the film, that was actually my first time ever talking about it publicly," says Murria.

Murria credits her father with convincing her to participate. He told her he'd seen her suffering in silence for long enough.

"It really was a challenge for me, because it was like, 'OK, Ericka, you're helping people heal in these areas, but you're not helping yourself. You're not taking that time,' " she says.

In the film, Murria shares how she introduced herself at a local event to Worthy, who later followed up with her about her rape kit. When it was tested, a DNA match was found.

"I feel very free, and I feel new, and I want to encourage other women who may be watching this ... to press forward because I feel strong. I feel stronger than I've never known I could feel, in ways I've never known that I could," Murria says in what appears to be a homemade video. (An epilogue reveals the outcome of the trial for her accused assailant.)

Murria has traveled with the "I Am Evidence" team to several film festivals, including the Traverse City Film Festival, where it earned an audience award.

She says she's committed to keep raising awareness through events like the Detroit screening, which is especially meaningful for her.

"We were in Mariska's hometown in New York. We've been to Traverse City. ... We've been everywhere. But I'm from Detroit. I'm representing for Detroit 100 percent."

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.

'I Am Evidence'

3 p.m. April 15, Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts

Screening followed by Free Press Columnist Rochelle Riley leading a discussion with producer Mariska Hargitay, directors Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir, survivor Ericka Murria, and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Unrated; adult situations and language, including discussion of sexual assault.

Tickets ($10 in advance, $12 at the door) available via freepfilmfestival.com

Freep Film Festival

More than 75 events, centered in greater downtown Detroit

April 11-15

Full lineup, tickets links at freepfilmfestival.com

Most events $10 advance, $12 at the door

'I Am Evidence' broadcast premiere

8 p.m. April 16

HBO

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