Patrick Leahy: “on June 9, 1999, our departed friend and colleague, the former senior Senator from Georgia, introduced the National…”

“on June 9, 1999, our departed friend and colleague, the former senior Senator from Georgia, introduced the National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act of 1999. This important legislative initiative called for an infusion of Federal funds to improve the quality of State and local forensic science services. I am pleased that Senator Sessions has revived the bill, and that we are passing it today as the Paul Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act of 2000, S. 3045. The use of quality forensic science services is widely accepted as a key to effective crime-fighting, especially with advanced technologies such as DNA testing. Over the past decade, DNA testing has emerged as the most reliable forensic technique for identifying criminals when biological material is left at a crime scene. Because of its scientific precision, DNA testing can, in some cases, conclusively establish a suspect's guilt or innocence. In other cases, DNA testing may not conclusively establish guilt or innocence, but may have significant probative value for investigators. While DNA's power to root out the truth has been a boon to law enforcement, it has also been the salvation of law enforcement's mistakes--those who for one reason or another, are prosecuted and convicted of crimes that they did not commit. In more than 75 cases in the United States and Canada, DNA evidence has led to the exoneration of innocent men and women who were wrongfully convicted.”