What’s the context behind political ad attacking Josh Stein’s rape kit record?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A political advertisement going after the record of the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina is drawing some controversy and claims of lacking important context.

The ad, titled “Women Deserve Better” is from State Solutions Inc. A Facebook page associated with the group noted it is affiliated with the Republican Governors Association. It features a woman named Amanda, a nurse from Chatham County, talking about Josh Stein’s record.

“Attorney General Josh Stein took years to address the rape kit backlog , and he released violent criminals from prison early,” she says in the advertisement. “Now, Stein’s bragging about his work on rape kits? How dare he. On Stein’s watch, rapes in North Carolina are up 53 percent.”

The ad is being noted for its tone. Stein is running against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson .

“This is the light spar before things get serious,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “If this one feels nasty, I’d run away from the TV for the next five months because it’s not going to get any better.”

Queen City News showed the ad to Cooper, along with Dr. Susan Roberts at Davidson College, who also is a political science professor.

Both noted the lack of context in the ad.

“If you look behind some of the facts, (and) it takes a while to do that, it takes journalists to do that, not people who see the ad,” said Roberts.

The claims that “Attorney General Josh Stein took years to address the rape kit backlog” lacks a fuller explanation. The backlog of cases goes back to around 2000, and the state, for years, led the nation in a backlog of untested rape kits.

Stein made it a priority as the N.C. attorney general when he came into office in 2017. In 2019, there was a bipartisan effort to address the backlog, which is part of a larger national issue due to a variety of factors, including how a law enforcement department prioritizes sexual assaults, or due to lack of training or resources.

Stein announced the backlog was cleared earlier this year.

The claims that “(Stein) released violent criminals from prison early” likely refers to a 2021 settlement between the State of North Carolina and civil rights groups which led to 3,500 prisoners being released early. The reason for the releases had largely to do with issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and curbing outbreaks in prisons.

Those that were released were primarily non-violent offenders, though some violent offenders were included. Those that were released were also largely kept under a form of supervised release.

The claims that “On Stein’s watch, rapes in North Carolina are up 53 percent” requires additional explanation.

According to numbers from the State Bureau of Investigation, the number of rapes statewide have increased since 2013, and is part of a larger nationwide trend (Stein was not elected attorney general until 2016).

In 2013, the legal definition of rape was expanded. In the last several years, more victims have come forward and have started reporting those crimes to law enforcement, reducing the stigma that has long been associated with sexual assault.

While the number of reported rapes has increased since 2013, overall crimes of all types have decreased some 23% in the same period. Since Stein took office, that trend has continued, according to SBI data.

Cooper noted this ad may be aimed towards a target demographic — women.

“Josh Stein, his first ad was about women’s reproductive rights and the horrible things Mark Robinson said about women,” said Cooper.

In a statement about the advertisement, a Stein campaign spokesperson said, “Women across North Carolina deserve justice. That’s why addressing the rape kit backlog was one of Attorney General Josh Stein’s first priorities when he took office in 2017. Meanwhile, Mark Robinson has done nothing to protect women from violence and instead repeatedly mocks survivors of sexual assault and defends their rapists like Harvey Weinstein.”

The Robinson campaign sent the following response to Queen City News.

Josh Stein likes to call himself North Carolina’s top cop. But since he took office, violent crime is up, he’s released violent criminals, and cozies up to radicals that want to defund the police. Stein is a career politician who will do and say anything to get elected, but he can’t hide from his failed record.

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