Our bill would help ensure that biological material is preserved and that DNA testing is made available in every appropriate case. But I want to emphasize that DNA testing as valuable as it may be is not a panacea for the problems with the death penalty. When an innocent person is exonerated after spending years on death row, it means that the system has failed. Neither DNA testing nor any other technology can make that person whole. When the system fails, one of the primary reasons is the lack of competent legal assistance.
Capital cases are complex matters.
They cannot be handled by lawyers who lack the proper training and experience, let alone by lawyers who are incompetent, unprepared, or impaired by substance abuse. That is why our bill would also address the urgent need to improve the availability of competent counsel in capital cases. Indeed, if we fail to do this, the right to DNA testing itself may prove an empty illusion especially for those inmates who lack the education or mental acuity to pursue the matter themselves. In closing, Mr. Chairman, we must acknowledge that the justice system is a human artifact. And nothing we can do will bring absolute certainty.