Hatch bill on DNA may stall

So what happened to all those rape kits prior to 2001 where police had no suspects?

Salt Lake police said they kept the kits initially rejected by the crime lab and that many were resubmitted to the crime lab after it agreed to take cases in which a suspect wasn't known.

Police said they did not know how many rape kits are still in storage in the evidence locker.

The national DNA database has proved a godsend to investigators, allowing them to arrest perpetrators of crimes committed years ago. And it can also be used to exonerate people imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

The database can also be used to store unknown DNA samples if a match doesn't appear immediately, as well as help link cases together and point out a possible serial rapist or killer.

The Utah State Crime Lab serves 140 agencies and receives an average of seven rape kits per week, Henry said. The crime lab is able to clear the names of suspects in about a third of the cases it receives.

In addition to current cases, the lab applied for funding recently from the National Institute of Justice to work on cold, or unsolved, cases. The State Crime Lab has 800 to 900 cold cases on its shelves, about 250 of those are unsolved sexual offense cases, Henry said.

Between the existing caseload, the cold cases and maintaining the databases of DNA and convicted offenders, Henry said the biggest problem for the crime lab becomes personnel. Any help from Congress, he said, would be appreciated.

"We don't have the personnel here at the lab. It's hard to maintain people with the pay so low. We're the lowest in the western United States. Keeping people after they've been trained is a chore," he said.

Hatch's committee victory — assured by a compromise reached earlier between the House and Senate and between Democrats and Republicans — came only after a full day of posturing by some Republican senators, who offered up at least 20 amendments to the bill, all of which failed.

But all of the amendments succeeded in frustrating Hatch's efforts to get the bill moved quickly out of committee and to the floor. Congress adjourns in about two weeks and might not have time to debate the bill.

In pushing the bill out of committee, Hatch crossed swords with some members of his own party, who complained long and hard that the bill is actually soft on crime and said it undercuts prosecutors and crime victims.

That's because the bill targeting DNA backlogs also contains provisions, sponsored by Leahy, that allow for post-conviction DNA testing for inmates who maintain their innocence, particular those on death row.

Hatch promised to work with opponents to address their concerns before a floor vote is taken.

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