Ted Poe: “One of the most marvelous scientific breakthroughs in the criminal justice system has been DNA evidence. I remember when…”

“One of the most marvelous scientific breakthroughs in the criminal justice system has been DNA evidence. I remember when I was a judge in the courthouse when DNA started being used at the courtroom. Prior to DNA, many times prosecutors and law enforcement had to rely on blood samples and fingerprints. But once DNA came in, we learned that everybody has a unique genetic makeup that can be tested and it can be traced to perpetrators of crime when they commit a crime, especially in sexual assault cases. And convictions have gone up. The evidence is better. The proof beyond a reasonable doubt is much more concrete in DNA cases. In 1985, there was a 13-year-old girl named Lavinia Masters. Lavinia lived in Dallas, Texas. One evening she told her folks good night. She went to her bedroom, which should be, Mr. Speaker, the safest place on Earth for children. Went to sleep, and during the middle of the night, she was woken up by an outlaw putting a knife to her throat. He sexually assaulted her. Then he snuck away in the darkness of the night. That was in 1985. She went to the hospital. Her parents took care of her medical needs. DNA evidence was taken from her and put in a ``rape kit''. It was given to the law enforcement authorities, but that DNA evidence from that sexual assault that night in 1985 was not tested for 20 years. It sat on the shelf in a crime lab somewhere in Dallas, Texas.…”