Mariska Hargitay spent decades chasing justice on Law & Order: SVU—then discovered thousands of real-life rape kits sitting untested across America.
Trailer for “I Am Evidence”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Detroit police found over 11,000 untested rape kits sitting in a warehouse, some dating back to the 1980s.
- Many survivors were told their cases were “inactive,” when in reality their evidence had never even been tested. One survivor waited over a decade, only to learn her kit had been shelved the entire time.
- Testing old kits years later led to serial rapists being identified…men who had gone on to assault multiple victims while kits sat untouched.
Watch “I Am Evidence”
You can watch “I Am Evidence” on HBO Max, Prime Video, and Hulu.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 95/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 95/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir (who also directed “The Perfect Neighbor“), this HBO documentary is backed by Mariska Hargitay from Law & Order SVU.
Release Date: 2017
Other Unique Stuff
- Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation helped fund real-world efforts to test backlogged kits and push legislation across multiple states.
- The documentary directly contributed to public pressure that helped pass new laws requiring rape kit tracking and mandatory testing in several states after its release.
Wrap Up:
“I Am Evidence” is one of the most frustrating and important docs I’ve seen in a while. It’s hard to watch, but it’ll make you care about something most people didn’t even know was happening.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc