Innocence Protection Act
Encyclopedia
The Innocence Protection Act is the first federal death penalty reform to be enacted. The Act seeks to ensure the fair administration of the death penalty and minimize the risk of executing innocent people. The Innocence Protection Act of 2001, introduced in the Senate
as S. 486 and the House of Representatives
as H.R. 912, was included as Title IV of the omnibus
Justice for All Act of 2004 (H.R. 5107), signed into law on October 30, 2004 by President
George W. Bush
as public law
no. 108-405.
The Justice For All Act is the product of a bi-partisan, bicameral compromise led by then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), then-House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA). It passed the House by an overwhelming vote of 393 to 14 on October 6, 2004 and the Senate by voice vote three days later.
The text of the Act amended the United States Code
to include procedures for post-conviction DNA testing in federal court
. Through the Kirk Bloodsworth
Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program, the act established a federal grant
program to provide money to states
to defray the costs of post-conviction DNA testing. The act additionally contains provisions for increasing the quality of representation for indigent defendant
s in state capital cases
, and for compensating victims of wrongful conviction.
The Innocence Protection Act is a first attempt at ensuring innocent people are not put to death. Thirty-six states and the federal government have enacted legislation that permits the courts to impose death as a criminal sentence. Of those thirty-six states, Texas executed the most inmates during 2009 with 24 executions. The total number of executions in the United States in 2009 was 52. In 2009, the total number of inmates serving a death sentence in the United States was 3,173.
The Innocence Protection Act allows convicted individuals access to DNA testing if they met certain conditions such as the possibility that testing could produce new material evidence that would raise a reasonable probability that the individual did not commit the offense. Among other restrictions, it limits new testing to evidence that was not previously tested and generally requires it to be done within 36 months of conviction. Forty-eight U.S. states have post-conviction DNA testing access statutes; two do not.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
as S. 486 and the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
as H.R. 912, was included as Title IV of the omnibus
Omnibus bill
An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. Omnibus is derived from Latin and means "for everything"...
Justice for All Act of 2004 (H.R. 5107), signed into law on October 30, 2004 by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as public law
Public law
Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
no. 108-405.
The Justice For All Act is the product of a bi-partisan, bicameral compromise led by then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), then-House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA). It passed the House by an overwhelming vote of 393 to 14 on October 6, 2004 and the Senate by voice vote three days later.
The text of the Act amended the United States Code
United States Code
The Code of Laws of the United States of America is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States...
to include procedures for post-conviction DNA testing in federal court
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
. Through the Kirk Bloodsworth
Kirk Bloodsworth
Kirk Noble Bloodsworth is the first American sentenced to death row who was exonerated by DNA fingerprinting, although his death sentence had already been commuted to two consecutive life sentences by the time his exoneration based upon DNA evidence was in the works.An honorably discharged former...
Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program, the act established a federal grant
Federal grant
In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of...
program to provide money to states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
to defray the costs of post-conviction DNA testing. The act additionally contains provisions for increasing the quality of representation for indigent defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s in state capital cases
Capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
, and for compensating victims of wrongful conviction.
Death Penalty
The Innocence Protection Act is the first federal death penalty reform to be enacted. Since the federal reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976,in 2002 more than 100 people have been released from death rows across the United States because of procedural errors or newly discovered evidence of their innocence.The Innocence Protection Act is a first attempt at ensuring innocent people are not put to death. Thirty-six states and the federal government have enacted legislation that permits the courts to impose death as a criminal sentence. Of those thirty-six states, Texas executed the most inmates during 2009 with 24 executions. The total number of executions in the United States in 2009 was 52. In 2009, the total number of inmates serving a death sentence in the United States was 3,173.
Post-Conviction DNA Testing
Advances in science and in particular, DNA testing, has become a method for innocent people who have been wrongly convicted to be exonerated. DNA testing is a predominant forensic technique which makes it possible to obtain conclusive results in cases in which previous testing had been inconclusive. Postconviction testing has been requested not only in cases in which DNA testing was never done, but also in cases in which the more refined technology may result in an indisputable evidence.The Innocence Protection Act allows convicted individuals access to DNA testing if they met certain conditions such as the possibility that testing could produce new material evidence that would raise a reasonable probability that the individual did not commit the offense. Among other restrictions, it limits new testing to evidence that was not previously tested and generally requires it to be done within 36 months of conviction. Forty-eight U.S. states have post-conviction DNA testing access statutes; two do not.