President Obama is prepared to reauthorize a criminal justice reform law long championed by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy that senators voted to extend on Thursday.
The Justice for All Reauthorization Act — which was co-authored by Leahy and Texas Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn — renews a number of programs aimed at making the criminal justice system fairer and more effective.
“I am proud to join with my partner Senator Cornyn on this legislation, and the many advocates who have helped guide our work,” Leahy said in a statement Friday. “As we consider legislation next Congress, we must remember that we have a continuing obligation to look out for all victims and to create fairness in our criminal justice system.”
Once enacted, the law will fund grants to increase forensic testing for cases of sexual assault in rural or underserved areas. The law will provide additional grants to assist victims of sexual crimes, and allocates specific funds to the Justice Department for testing and auditing backlogged rape kits.
The bill also tweaks the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 in an effort to create national standards for preventing and punishing such crimes.
Also included in the legislation are clarified housing protections for victims of domestic violence in the Violence Against Women Act — another Leahy-authored bill that was reauthorized in 2013.
The bill renews the Innocence Protection Act, the first ever death penalty reform law, which was pushed through by Leahy and others in 2004. Included in the renewal is grant money for DNA tests, which can exonerate wrongly convicted felons.
Leahy’s office said that 337 felons have been exonerated because of DNA tests, and the legislation also makes it easier for felons to access DNA testing, even if an individual waived their right to post-conviction DNA testing as part of a plea agreement.
“I believe we should eliminate the death penalty entirely because I know the system gets it wrong,” Leahy said Thursday. “But until we do away with the death penalty, we must improve the integrity of our criminal justice system. “
The bill increases the current annual allocation of federal funds to help with DNA testing from $5 million to $10 per year.
The bill also requires the Attorney General to partake in a comprehensive review of crime labs, and to submit a report to Congress about what reforms are required.
In looking ahead to the next Congressional session, with Donald Trump in the White House, Leahy hopes to push another bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.
The bill — which has the support of 37 senators from both parties — reduces minimum prison penalties for low-level, non-violent offenders, and gives judges greater discretion in sentencing for drug offenses. While reducing minimum sentences for some crimes, the bill would instatute new mandatory sentences for crimes of interstate domestic violence and arms sales to terrorists.
“It has taken a long time, but I am glad that a bipartisan group of Senators has joined our efforts to improve the fairness of our criminal justice system,” Leahy said after the bill was introduced. “Now, the Senate must vote.”
