Caught in the Act: Backlog Brad Tries to Rewrite History of His Failure to Keep Wisconsin Safe

MADISON, Wis. —  In a wildly hypocritical op-ed this week, extreme far-right candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court Brad Schimel made a feeble attempt at rewriting the history of how he failed to deliver justice for victims across Wisconsin.

As attorney general, Backlog Brad allowed violent offenders to walk free and refused to do his job to keep Wisconsinites safe. Try as he might to rewrite history, the truth is that Brad Schimel let thousands of rape kits pile up, delaying justice for victims while he wasted taxpayer dollars on commemorative coins, fruitless lawsuits, and attacks on Wisconsinites’ freedoms.

Here’s what you need to know about how Backlog Brad Schimel failed rape and sexual assault victims in Wisconsin:

• Brad Schimel claimed the Department of Justice was made aware of Wisconsin’s rape kit backlog in 2014. Despite this, Brad Schimel tested only nine out of over 6,000 untested rape kits during his first two years in office—delaying justice for thousands of victims of sexual assault, including over 2,000 children.
• As public scrutiny over his failures mounted, Brad Schimel blamed survivors of sexual assault for the number of untested rape kits, suggesting that “victim choices” were a leading cause of the kit backlog.
• But Brad Schimel’s failures were his alone to own. Even as Waukesha County District Attorney, Schimel allowed 26 rape kits to remain untested, all but five of which involved minors.
• As attorney general, Schimel decided to “wait for a bargain price” to hire private labs to test rape kits instead of asking the Legislature for more resources to clear Wisconsin’s backlog.
• While bargain hunting for justice for victims, Schimel spent $10,000 in taxpayer funds on commemorative coins emblazoned with his own personal motto: Kick Ass Every Day.
• Brad Schimel outright lied about the rape kit backlog, falsely claiming “a few hundred” backlogged kits had been tested before pretending that no backlog existed at all.

“As Wisconsin’s top cop, Brad Schimel had everything he needed to get justice for victims, but he chose to sit on his hands and let violent offenders walk free. It’s shameful that he would try to turn one of his greatest failures into a cheap talking point,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Deputy Communications Director Haley McCoy. “Brad Schimel is responsible for delaying justice for thousands of victims of rape and sexual assault. He doesn’t get to erase his negligence just because he’s running for office again.”

Learn more about Wisconsin’s Worst Attorney General at bradschimel.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.