Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology

From the Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform

http://CJReform.org

Tell Your Judiciary Committee Member America Needs the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act!

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Saxby Chambliss will play a key role in deciding if the full Senate will ever vote on the Innocence Protection Act (IPA). Tell Sen. Chambliss that America needs the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act by visiting:

http://www.cjreform.org/grassroots

On November 5, 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act (S1700), which contains the latest version of the Innocence Protection Act. The bill, which had 250 House cosponsors and passed by a vote of 357 to 67, is an important step forward for victims of crime, who want to be confident that the system accurately identifies real perpetrators, and for innocent people, who might otherwise be sentenced to death.

S 1700 would:

**Enact 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.

**Create the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program, which authorizes $25 million over five years to help states fund post-conviction DNA testing and the preservation of DNA evidence.

**Authorize 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.

DNA testing can help prove some people innocent or guilty; however, in most cases, there is no biological evidence to test. The federal Innocence Protection Act, which is now Title III of the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, would help ensure death penalty trials are fair and accurate from the start by improving counsel standards in capital cases.

Tell Sen. Chambliss that America needs the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act by visiting:

http://www.cjreform.org/grassroots

Thank you for your support. Please pass this call to action on after you've sent your free fax. With your help, we can make the Innocence Protection Act the law of the land this year!

http://cjreform.org/register/r-goupdate.vtml

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