[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

[[Page S2372]]

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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