The Justice Project

Timeline of the Innocence Protection Act

106th Congress:

  • February 10, 2000: After devoting nearly a year to evaluating flaws in the administration of the death penalty nationwide, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduces the Innocence Protection Act of 2000 (S.2073), a package of reforms that address many of the worst problems.
  • April 4, 2000: Representatives Bill Delahunt (D-MA) and Ray LaHood (R-IL) introduce the Innocence Protection Act in the House (H.R.4167) with 81 bipartisan cosponsors.
  • June 7, 2000: Momentum builds for death penalty reform as key Republicans sign on: Senators Leahy, Smith (R-OR), and Collins (R-ME) introduce the bipartisan Innocence Protection Act of 2000 (S.2690).
  • June 12, 2000: A groundbreaking study on flaws in the administration of capital punishment, “A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995,” is published by professors at Columbia University. The study reveals a death penalty system collapsing under the weight of its own mistakes. 
  • June 13, 2000: Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing titled, “Post-Conviction DNA Testing: When is Justice Served?”  
  • June 20, 2000: House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, holds a hearing on the Innocence Protection Act.

107th Congress:

  • March 7, 2001: The bipartisan Innocence Protection Act of 2001 is introduced with 15 cosponsors in the Senate and over 100 in the House. Eventually the bill garnered the sponsorship of almost a third of the Senate and 250 members of the House. (S.486/H.R.912)
  • April 9, 2002: The number of exonerated death row inmates reaches 100, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
  • June 18, 2002: Senate and House Judiciary Committees hold hearings on death penalty reform. The Senate hearing is titled, “Protecting the Innocent: Proposals to Reform the Death Penalty.” The House hearing, titled “The Innocence Protection Act of 2001,” is held in the Crime Subcommittee. 
  • June 27, 2001: Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing titled, “Protecting the Innocent: Ensuring Competent Counsel in Death Penalty Cases.”
  • July 2, 2001: Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor expresses concerns about fairness in the administration of the death penalty: “If statistics are any indication, the system may well be allowing some innocent defendants to be executed. Perhaps it’s time to look at minimum standards for appointed counsel in death cases and adequate compensation for appointed counsel when they are used.”
  • July 18, 2002: A compromise version of the Innocence Protection Act is reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 12 to 7. Senators Specter (R-PA) and Brownback (R-KS) join committee Democrats in voting for the bill.

108th Congress:

  • January 7, 2003: The version of the Innocence Protection Act that was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 107th Congress is introduced as Title VI of S.22, the Democratic leadership anti-crime package.
  • February 2003: The American Bar Association issues revised Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. The revised Guidelines make clear that an independent agency - not the courts or elected officials - should appoint counsel in capital cases to ensure the integrity of the process.
  • October 1, 2003: The Innocence Protection Act of 2003 is introduced in the Senate and House as Title III of the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003. The original cosponsors include Republican Chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
  • October 8, 2003: House Judiciary Committee reports the Advancing Justice Through Technology Act of 2003 favorably to the House.
  • November 5, 2003: U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly votes in favor (357 to 67) of the Advancing Justice Through Technology Act and the Innocence Protection Act.
  • September 21, 2004: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approves the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, including the Innocence Protection Act, by a vote of 11-7.
  • September 22, 2004: U.S. House Judiciary introduces and approves without objection the Innocence Protection Act as part of the Justice for All Act, a new bill containing the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act and additional provisions dealing with victims’ rights.
  • October 6, 2004: U.S. House of Representatives passes an amended version of the Justice for All Act by a vote of 393 to 14.
  • October 9, 2004: After weeks of negotiations, the U.S. Senate approves by voice vote an amended version of the Justice for All Act of 2004. The amended version is sent to the House. The U.S. House of Representatives approves the legislation later that day.
  • October 20, 2004: The Justice for All Act of 2004 (HR 5107) is presented to President Bush for signing.
  • October 30, 2004: President Bush signs H.R. 5107, and the Innocence Protection Act becomes law (Public Law No. 108-405).

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