Debbie Smith Act Reauthorization Passes Senate

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WASHINGTON, DC – “The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of
2008” (H.R. 5057), legislation that would extend an important federal DNA
backlog processing program through FY 2014, passed the Senate today by
unanimous consent.  The bill is named for a rape survivor who testified
before Congress about the use of DNA evidence.  Congresswoman Carolyn B.
Maloney (D-NY) introduced the bill, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John
Conyers (D-MI) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX)
are original co-sponsors.

“Every unprocessed rape kit represents a victim who has been
denied justice,” Maloney said.  “DNA evidence puts rapists behind
bars.  I am proud that Congress is again taking action to address the
unconscionable backlog of DNA evidence in crime labs around the country.”

“I want to thank the bill’s supporters in the Senate
especially Senators Biden, Leahy, Kyl, and Specter for their assistance in
getting this legislation through the Senate and back to the House before the
110th Congress adjourns,” said Rep. Maloney.  “I will work with
my colleagues to ensure that we get this bill to the president.”

Rep. Maloney authored the original “Debbie Smith Act” after
rape survivor Debbie Smith testified before the House Government Reform
Committee in June 2001 about using DNA evidence to solve rape cases.  Debbie
was raped near her home in 1989, and for six and a half years she lived in fear
that her attacker would return to kill her.  Debbie was finally able to
live without fear when she learned that her rapist had been identified because
of DNA evidence and was already in prison.  

The original “Debbie Smith Act” was signed into law in 2004
as part of “The Justice for All Act,” comprehensive legislation that ensured
that DNA evidence could be used to convict the guilty and free the
innocent.  Since then, millions of dollars of federal funding have been
appropriated under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program to process the
thousands of unprocessed DNA evidence kits - including rape kits - across the
country.

A bipartisan coalition of members of Congress,
organizations, and crime victims like Debbie Smith worked together to pass the
original “Debbie Smith Act.”  The president signed the bill into law just
as police in New York
State made their first
arrest, based on an indictment of a DNA sample (“John Doe”), of a suspect in a
sexual assault case from 1996.  The landmark law is set to expire at the
end of FY 2009, but the reauthorization bill would extend the important program
until 2014.

For more information on the Debbie Smith Act, click
here.

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