'Justice for All' DNA act is law

WASHINGTON — President Bush took time out over the weekend from his hectic re-election bid to sign into law sweeping DNA legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

"The signing of this bill is a critical step toward getting rid of the backlog of nearly 400,000 rape kits across the country. It will help provide justice for victims of crime as well as those who are wrongfully accused and convicted of crimes," said Hatch, who called it one of the most important pieces of legislation to come out of the 108th Congress.

At the heart of the Justice For All Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on Hatch's Judiciary Committee, is $755 million over five years in grants to the states to eliminate the current backlog of DNA samples collected from rapes and homicides and other crime-scene evidence awaiting analysis in crime labs around the county.

And there is money to help eliminate the backlog of testing for inmates who should have had their DNA collected and placed into a national database that could be used to solve crimes.

According to the Department of Justice, between 500,000 and 1 million convicts should have had their DNA collected and analyzed, as is now required by law, but have not yet been tested.

The bill also authorizes another $500 million in grants to states to improve their crime labs, train law enforcement in the use of DNA evidence and promote DNA as a means to identify missing persons. It also creates a federal post-conviction DNA testing process to protect the innocent from wrongful prosecutions, and help states improve the quality of legal representation in capital cases.

A compromise version of the bill — complete with provisions for conservatives and liberals — was passed by Congress in October just before lawmakers headed home for their reelection campaigns

"This bill is a rare example of bipartisan cooperation for good causes," Leahy said. "It reflects many years of work and intense negotiation. This is the most significant step we have taken in many years to improve the quality of justice in this country."

Leahy called DNA the "miracle forensic tool of our lifetimes," one that has the "power to convict the guilty and to exonerate the innocent."

Critical to Democratic support for the legislation were provisions calling for DNA testing of inmates already convicted, especially those on death row. Some conservatives adamantly opposed that, saying it could be used as another legal delaying tactic to avoid justice.