Adam Schiff: “As lead cosponsor of the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003, I rise in strong support of this landmark…”

“As lead cosponsor of the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003, I rise in strong support of this landmark piece of legislation that will solve countless crimes and potentially exonerate innocent individuals wrongly imprisoned. For years we have attempted to deal with crime by focusing almost exclusively on increasing sentences of those that we catch rather than catching those who continue to elude all punishment. We have been tough on crime, but not always smart about our tactics. As a former Federal prosecutor, I have long recognized what a powerful tool the use of DNA profiles has become in solving crime. The FBI DNA database contains about 1.5 million DNA profiles and has yielded thousands of matches in criminal investigations, and thousands of additional matches can and must be made. For this reason, I introduced legislation earlier this year to increase the effectiveness of DNA databases. This legislation was aimed at replicating nationwide the success that many States have had, and I am pleased that many of these policy improvements have been included in the bill before us today.”