Sunday, September 14, 2008
Charging for Rape Kits - It's Worse than You Thought
The police chief that Palin fired because he was not a loyalist did NOT send bills to rape victims. That policy started under Palin and her hand-picked Chief Fannon:
UPDATE: This thought had not even crossed my mind. Could it be worse than worse? I would be very curious to hear the answer if any non-shill reporter can get within 100 feet of Palin ever again. ¶ 12:49 AM
It turns out that Wasilla did not bill sexual assault victims for the cost of rape exams while Irl Stambaugh was chief of police. As chief, he had included a line item in the budget to pay for the cost of such exams. He had only just heard about the Mayor Palin/Chief Fannon policy today, and was just as shocked to hear about it as I was.I cannot fathom what kind of twisted conservative doctrine justifies this disgraceful policy.
Checking the budget confirmed former Chief Stambaugh's claim. He had included a contingency of $15,000 in his budget for the department's 1st year of existence (1993-1994), $5,000 for 1994-1995 and 1995-1996, and $13,000 for his final year as police chief in 1996-1997, spending $11,625.
Duwayne Charles Fannon, his replacement, halved the budget request in 1997-1998, with a request of $7,298, spending $3,454. However, it seems he began the "victim pays" policy in the 1998-1999 fiscal year. That year, he requested $3,000 but spent only $205. This data can be found in the Document Central section of Wasilla's website.
UPDATE: This thought had not even crossed my mind. Could it be worse than worse? I would be very curious to hear the answer if any non-shill reporter can get within 100 feet of Palin ever again. ¶ 12:49 AM
