On February 1, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D‑Vermont) intro­duced leg­is­la­tion (S. 250) that would reau­tho­rize the Justice for All Act. The Act, first passed in 2004, pro­vid­ed impor­tant tools and assis­tance to help state and local gov­ern­ments use DNA evi­dence to con­vict the guilty and exon­er­ate the inno­cent. It also bol­stered crime vic­tim sup­port ser­vices. If re-autho­rized, the Justice for All Act would direct more resources to improv­ing the qual­i­ty of rep­re­sen­ta­tion in state death penal­ty cas­es, adjust the require­ments to obtain grants through the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant pro­gram so that more states can apply, and allows post-con­vic­tion DNA test­ing at the fed­er­al lev­el for defen­dants who waived their rights in a plea agree­ment. Senator Leahy said, ​“The pro­grams cre­at­ed by the Justice for All Act have had an enor­mous impact, and it is cru­cial that we reau­tho­rize them. Americans need and deserve a crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem which keeps us safe, ensures fair­ness and accu­ra­cy, and ful­fills the promise of our con­sti­tu­tion. This bill will take impor­tant steps to bring us clos­er to that goal.” The bill is co-spon­sored by sen­a­tors Al Franken (D‑Minn), Tom Harkin (D‑Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D‑Minn). The National Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and the National Criminal Justice Association have writ­ten let­ters sup­port­ing the legislation.

Kirk Bloodsworth of Maryland was the first death row inmate to be exon­er­at­ed through DNA test­ing. Sen. Leahy was the orig­i­nal spon­sor of the Justice for All Act.

(“Leahy Continues Effort To Reauthorize Historic Justice For All Act,” Press Release from Sen. Leahy, Feb. 1, 2011). See Innocence.

Citation Guide