Pennsylvania is considering a drastic change in the way it handles rape cases. Government officials are working to amend the state's statute of limitations law. The change, if implemented, would give police an open-ended amount of time to search for a suspect in a rape case.

Currently, the law states that rape victims have five years to file a formal complaint against a named suspect with police. If the new law takes effect, victims will still have five years to file the complaint, but they will not have to name the suspect. Instead, police can file charges against a DNA profile through a "John Doe" warrant. Police can then investigate the crime indefinitely until it is solved.

This initiative comes after a DNA match linked a suspect to two 1997 rapes in State College. A Joe Doe warrant was issued based on the suspect's DNA profile. This profile was later matched to David Shuey, a 1996 graduate of Penn State.

The concept of statute of limitations is one deeply rooted in our justice system. It exists to protect potential defendants from being forever at risk for a lawsuit, and to ensure that lawsuits are filed while evidence and memories are still recent.

Using John Doe warrants to circumvent these protections is a worrisome possibility. However, the proposed change will not serve to completely nullify these protections. The John Doe warrant does not allow police officers to charge a phantom person with rape. A DNA profile is a person, despite the fact that police do not yet have a name to attach to that person. The current statute of limitations law as enacted in 1976, before DNA profiling was a possibility. Now that we have the ability to create these profiles, laws need to change to reflect the new capabilities.

The push for the change in statute of limitations could not have come at a better time. There have been several recent sexual assaults in State College and on campus. Many of these have been "stranger rapes" -- instances in which the victim did not know the suspect. Stranger rapes are usually uncommon, but at least three have occurred in the area in the last month. Stranger rapes are exactly the type of cases that the change in statute limitations will help. It is often difficult to identify suspects in these cases and many go unsolved. By allowing police to issue warrants based on DNA profiles from samples taken from the victim, a suspect can be identified, though without a name, and police do not have to worry about the statute of limitations expiring. The change will not impede justice and will help law enforcement agencies curtail an alarming trend in our community.