Leahy Bill To Improve Criminal Justice System To Be Signed Into Law

WASHINGTON (FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2016) – Legislation long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to help ensure that the criminal justice system functions fairly now goes to the White House for signature after the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill on Thursday.

The Justice for All Reauthorization Act aims to reduce the rape kit backlog by supporting grant programs that fund forensic testing. The bill, coauthored by Leahy and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), also renews the Innocence Protection Act, a landmark Leahy law which includes the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program. That program facilitates the use of post-conviction testing of DNA evidence that can exonerate the wrongly convicted and hold the guilty accountable. The bill also requires the Justice Department to assist state and local governments to improve their indigent defense systems and ensures implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

“I have long championed the Justice for All Act to make our justice system more fair,” said Leahy, a former prosecutor. “Our bill will strengthen indigent defense and expand the rights of crime victims. It will improve the use of forensic evidence, including rape kits, to provide justice swiftly. It will help protect the innocent by increasing access to post-conviction DNA testing.”

Leahy has long worked to reduce the rape kit backlog and advance several bills in support of sexual assault survivors. In 2014, he led the successful effort to pass legislation renewing the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Reduction Program. Leahy also included language in the Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Act, enacted in 2013, that significantly increased resources for survivors of sexual assault.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2016/12/05/leahy-bill-improve-criminal-justice-system-signed-law/