US House of Representatives Passes Major Anti-Crime Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Legislators Advance DNA and Victims’ Rights Bill With Overwhelming Support
Spokespeople Available Including Legislative Staff, 1st DNA Exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth
WASHINGTON, October 6, 2004 – The US House of Representatives today passed a new bill called the “Justice for All Act of 2004″ (HR 5107) by a vote of 393 to 14. HR 5107 incorporates the “Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act” (HR 3214/S 1700). The bill is expected to move to the Senate floor for a vote before the congressional session adjourns.
“The House made an important move today to pass critical anti-crime legislation that ensures fairness and accuracy for victims of crime and innocent Americans,” says Kirk Bloodsworth, whose case was the first capital conviction to be overturned as a result of DNA testing. “Now the Senate needs to step up to the plate. Only a handful of Senators, whose views are clearly anti-innocence, are holding up this bill. But I truly believe that justice will prevail for crime victims as well as innocent victims of our flawed justice system and that this bill will get passed in the few remaining days of the session.”
Introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), this leading anti-crime legislation for the 108th Congress not only includes provisions that would protect victims’ rights, but that would also provide much-needed funds to test a nationwide backlog of more than 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence, and also ensure access to post-conviction DNA testing for those serving time in prison with claims of innocence. Passage of this bill in the House provides supporters of the DNA bill another avenue to secure passage of critical DNA testing legislation in the Senate.
This move reflects continued commitment among leaders in the House, including Rep. Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) to advance effective DNA legislation this session.
To find out more about the Justice for All Act of 2004, please visit our Innocence Protection Act page:
http://www.thejusticeproject.org/national/ipa/
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