*Throughout the decades there has been many changes and innovations in the criminal justice system. Reformers and legislators in the past decades have worked hard to create better laws that diminish most loop holes for defendants. This method can be observed through the evolution of rape trials over time. From Rape Shield Laws to the Rape Reform Movement, many changes have been made in the justice system to protect victims and to accurately convict rapists. Some of these advancements helped victims to accurately convict their rapist, but some of them negatively impacted rape trials and accusations. *Rape used to be defined as a women being forced into sexual relations against her will. But Rape Reform Movements have changed the defintion so that it includes and protects former unsuspected victims of rape such as males, spouses, and cohabitants. The Sexual …show more content…
These laws prohibit the alleged rape victims sexual history from being disclosed during a trial or to the court and jury. Legislation also made laws so that offenders would not be able to drop their charges by stating that a teenager or child looked older then they are. Convictions were also increased with the help of DNA and rape kits. This helps many women indentify and convict their attackers by running evidence through fingerprint and DNA databases, which accurately indentify who assaulted the victim. Technology advancements have also allowed forensics to indentify people even when only a few particles of DNA are left at the crime scene. Another big step in rape trial evolution is the prohibition of the Incapacity Defense. This led to more convictions as rapists could no longer state that they did not know their victim was drunk, drugged, mentally disabled, or incapacitated in any way. This means they would physically be unfit to give consent at the time of the rape, making the defendant