Senate Passes DNA/Death Penalty Reform Package

Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed The Justice For All Act, a wide-ranging criminal justice package that includes the Innocence Protection Act.

Senator Patrick Leahy, who sponsored the bill and introduced the Innocence Protection Act of 2000, had this statement: (His entire statement is posted on The Justice Project's website and it's very inspiring and worth taking the 5 minutes to read it. Toward the end of the statement he thanks the many people who helped make this happen...and it really shows how many people are involved in reforming the system).

The House bill also includes the Debbie Smith Act and the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act, which together authorize more than $1 billion over the next five years to eliminate the DNA backlog crisis in the Nation’s crime labs and fund other DNA-related programs. Finally, the House bill includes crime victims’ rights provisions that I sponsored with Senators Feinstein and Kyl, and which already passed the Senate earlier this year.

Posted by katherine at 01:13 PM