Death Row Exoneree and Rape Survivor Call on Senate to Pass DNA Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Thursday, September 9, 2004, The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will consider for mark-up the bipartisan Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, which includes the Innocence Protection Act (S.1700). Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA evidence, and rape survivor, Debbie Smith, will be in attendance to urge the bill’s movement out of committee and on to the Senate floor for a vote.
In a concerted effort to urge legislators to pass the DNA bill, Bloodsworth and Smith have visited numerous Senate offices to show their united support for the legislation in anticipation of the bill being considered for mark-up on Thursday.
The bill would provide funds to test a nationwide backlog of more than 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence and ensure access to post-conviction DNA testing for those serving time in prison.
Bloodsworth, a former Marine and Maryland resident, will share his personal story of being wrongfully convicted and spending nearly nine years in prison, two on death row, for a crime he didn’t commit. Last year DNA evidence identified the person who eventually pleaded guilty for the crime. A provision of the legislation, the “Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program,” would help states pay the costs of post-conviction DNA testing for people with claims of innocence.
Smith will share her perspective on the importance of DNA testing. After she was raped outside her home in 1989 and provided a rape kit to the authorities, Smith had to wait six years for the state of Virginia to test the biological evidence. The bill enacts the “Debbie Smith Backlog Grant Program,” which provides $755 million to test the backlog of more than 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence awaiting analysis in our nation’s crime labs.
“Nobody should have to wait for justice,” Bloodsworth says. “I struggled for nearly 20 years to clear my name. And Debbie had to wait in fear for six years not knowing whether her attacker had ever been caught. This legislation will prevent innocent people from ending up on death row and it will ensure that the truly guilty are caught. Congress should pass this legislation and prevent more stories like Debbie’s and mine.”
Every U.S. Senator will receive a letter from Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urging passage of this legislation. They will receive with the letter a copy of “Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA,” a book by Tim Junkin that tells Bloodsworth’s chilling story.
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About the Legislation:
The legislation was introduced last October by Joint Judiciary Committee Leaders, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and today has 38 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate. On November 5, 2003, the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives with 250 cosponsors by an overwhelming vote of 357 to 67.
The Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act (S.1700) [ www.thejusticeproject.org/national/ipa ] is the product of a bi-partisan, bicameral compromise led by Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). This critical legislation will provide much-needed funds to test the DNA backlog, provide funding for victims services through grants to prosecutor and defender offices, and ensure access to post-conviction DNA testing for those who may be in prison or on death row for crimes they did not commit.
The bill:
**Enacts the Debbie Smith Backlog Grant Program, providing $755 million to test the backlog of over 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence awaiting analysis in our nation’s crime labs;
**Enacts the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act and the Rape Kits and DNA Evidence Backlog Elimination Act, authorizing more than $500 million for programs to improve the capacity of crime labs to conduct DNA analysis, reduce non-DNA backlogs, train examiners, support sexual assault forensic examiner programs, and promote the use of DNA to identify missing persons;
**Creates the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program and authorizes $25 million over five years to help states pay the costs of post-conviction DNA testing; and
**Authorizes grants to states for Capital Prosecution and Capital Defense Improvement, which will be used to train, oversee, and improve the quality of death penalty trials, as well as assist families of murder victims.
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The Justice Project [ http://www.thejusticeproject.org ] (TJP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that addresses issues of social justice here and abroad. TJP’s Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform is a national initiative that addresses flaws in the American justice system.
