[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 59 (Thursday, April 10, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2371-S2372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JUSTICE FOR ALL ACT
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this week marks the 30th annual National
Crime Victims' Rights Week. It is a time to recognize victims of crime
and their families and to acknowledge the efforts to help them recover
and rebuild their lives in the wake of tragedy. It is also a time to
ask what more we can do to help serve victims of crime and improve our
criminal justice system. We have an opportunity this week to pass a
bill that will not just pay lipservice to crime victims but actually
impact and improve their lives. It is time to pass the Justice for All
Act.
The Justice for All Act is a bipartisan bill that Senator Cornyn and
I introduced nearly 1 year ago to improve the quality of justice in
this country. It was approved by the Judiciary Committee in October by
a unanimous voice vote, and it cleared the Democratic side of the
hotline on March 27. However, it still has not passed the Senate
because Senate Republicans object. For reasons that have not been
explained, Republicans have failed to consent to passing this
commonsense bill. This is no way to treat victims of crime, especially
during a week when we seek to honor them.
The Justice for All Act reauthorizes the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog
Reduction Act, which has provided significant funding to reduce the
backlog of untested rape kits so that victims need not live in fear
while kits languish in storage. That program is named after Debbie
Smith, who waited years for her rape kit to be tested. Although delayed
for years, that rape kit test ultimately enabled the perpetrator to be
caught. She and her husband Rob have worked tirelessly to ensure that
others will not have the same experience. I thank Debbie and Rob for
their continuing help on this extremely important cause.
The Justice for All Act reauthorization establishes safeguards to
prevent wrongful convictions and enhances protections and legal rights
for crime victims. It is supported by experts in the field and law
enforcement, including the National Center for Victims of Crime, the
National Center of Police Organizations, and the National District
Attorneys Associations. Yet even during Crime Victims' Week, which
coincides with Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, Senate
Republicans have not yet shown a willingness to clear the important
reauthorization.
Senator Cornyn was on the floor just last week and earlier today
expressing his commitment to getting this passed and signed into law. I
urge him to lead
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his caucus to get it through the Senate. He and I both know that a
unanimous voice vote in the Judiciary Committee is uncommon and happens
on only the most uncontroversial and uniformly applauded bills. This is
one of those bills, and we need to pass this today.
Senator McConnell is also a cosponsor of this bill. This effort has
been bipartisan from the beginning, and I am proud that we have the
minority leader and the minority whip helping to lead this effort.
Despite the support of the Senate Republican leadership, the bill
nonetheless remains stalled. Perhaps it is because the House Republican
leadership would rather pass a much narrower bill. I trust that the
Senate will stand up for all victims who deserve justice, just as we
did when the Senate passed an inclusive Violence Against Women Act
reauthorization last year.
Our bipartisan Senate legislation strengthens the Kirk Bloodsworth
Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program, one of the key programs
created in the Innocence Protection Act. Kirk Bloodsworth was a young
man just out of the Marines when he was sentenced to death for a
heinous crime that he did not commit. He was the first death row inmate
in the United States to be exonerated through the use of DNA evidence.
Since the Justice for All Act was first enacted in 2004, we continue
to see cases in which people are found to be innocent after spending
years in jail.
Thomas Haynesworth was exonerated in 2011 after spending 27 years in
prison for crimes he did not commit, thanks to a grant provided by the
Justice for All Act. He was accused of rape in 1984 and wrongfully
convicted, and the real perpetrator in this case went on to rape more
than a dozen women.
It is an outrage when an innocent person is punished, and this
injustice is compounded when the true perpetrator remains on the
streets, able to commit more crimes. We are all less safe when the
system gets it wrong.
This bill also provides funding for the Paul Coverdell Forensic
Science Improvement Grant Program, which assists laboratories in
performing the many forensic tests that are essential to solving crimes
and prosecuting offenders.
I cannot imagine why is there an objection to supporting scientific
testing and improving the reliability of criminal convictions. Every
American, including crime victims, is better served when our justice
system has the resources it needs to operate effectively. If there is a
person in the Senate who objects, I ask them to come forward and
explain that to me and to the American people. I would welcome that
debate.
The hotline on this bipartisan Justice for All Act reauthorization
has been running on the Republican side since March 31, and I have not
heard one substantive argument against the merits of this bill. Police
officers, prosecutors, and crime victims agree on the necessity of this
bill. Why can't we?
The Justice for All Act takes important steps to ensure that all
criminal defendants, including those who cannot afford a lawyer,
receive effective representation. Our justice system, including
successful prosecution, depends upon effective representation on both
sides.
This is not a time for delay. This is a time for leadership. The
stakes are too high and crime victims are depending on us to do the
right thing. I urge all Senators, and particularly those in the
Republican caucus, to clear this bill today.
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