The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 provides United States federal government grants to eligible states and units of local government to conduct DNA analyses of backlogged DNA samples collected from victims of crimes and criminal offenders. The Act expands the Combined DNA Index System and provides legal assistance to survivors of dating violence. Named after sexual assault survivor Debbie Smith, the Act was passed by the 108th Congress as part of larger legislation, the Justice for All Act of 2004, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30, 2004. The bill was reauthorized in 2008. At that time, there remained serious concerns about a backlog in the testing of rape kit DNA samples. Investigations conducted by CBS News and by Human Rights Watch revealed in 2009 that despite five years and millions in federal funding, rape kit backlogs persisted in the United States and had increased in several grant supported states and counties. According to a 2009 CBS News investigation, at least 20,000 untested rape kits were being held in four major U.S. cities and an additional twelve major cities had no idea how many rape kits remained untested in law enforcement storage facilities. An October 2008 audit of the Los Angeles city crime lab by Human Rights Watch revealed that rape kit backlogs increased between 2004 and 2008, despite nearly $4 million in Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Program grants. In January 2007, the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that approximately 5,000 rape kits resided in LAPD storage facilities. By July 2008 the backlog grew to 7,300, but was later estimated at 5,193 by a February 2009 audit.
Debbie Smith
On March 3, 1989, a man wearing a ski mask entered Debbie Smith's Williamsburg, Virginia, home and threatened her with a gun, dragged her into the woods, blindfolded her and raped her repeatedly over the next hour. She participated in the collection of DNA evidence for a rape kit, but it was not formally tested and entered into a national database until 1994. On July 24, 1995, a DNA technician identified Debbie's attacker, Norman Jimmerson, while analyzing various DNA records. Jimmerson, then serving time for abducting and robbing two women in 1989, was sentenced to 161 years in prison under the three strikes law. Smith founded the organization Hope Exists After Rape Trauma. In 2014, she spoke out in favor of the renewal of the act named for her.
Provisions of the bill
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source. The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2014 would amend the Debbie Smith Act of 2004 to reauthorize funding through FY2019 for: the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program; DNA training and education for law enforcement, correctional personnel, and court officers; and sexual assault forensic exam program grants.
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 2, 2014. This is a public domain source. H.R. 4323 would authorize the appropriation of $968 million over the 2015-2019 period for United States Department of Justice programs to enhance the analysis of DNA samples and other work relating to criminal investigations. Assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, we estimate that implementing H.R. 4323 would cost $644 million over the 2015-2019 period, with remaining amounts spent in subsequent years. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. H.R. 4323 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Debbie Smith, who the law is named after, spoke in favor of the bill. She said that "these aren't rape kits that need to be tested, these are lives that need to be given back to their owners," arguing that the bill was very important to the victims of rape. Rep. Carolyn Maloney also spoke in favor of the bill, arguing that "this is one of those rare bills that virtually guarantees that it will put real criminals behind bars and protect people more effectively against one of the most traumatic assaults imaginable." Rep. Bob Goodlatte praised Debbie Smith's courage. He also said that he was "pleased that the House voted today to stand by these brave victims and ensure that DNA analysis is completed quickly so that law enforcement officials can accurately identify, prosecute, and lock these criminals in jail so that sexual predators are not left free to roam our streets and potentially hurt more women." He also urged the Senate to move quickly to pass the legislation.
