But, Mr. President, Illinois and New York are the only states that currently provide some measure of access to DNA testing for death row inmates. My distinguished colleague from Vermont, Senator Leahy, has introduced a bill, the Innocence Protection Act, of which I am a co-sponsor, that would ensure access to DNA testing for all inmates on death row in the federal system and the 38 states that impose the death penalty. That bill is an important initiative to help ensure that innocents are not condemned to death row. I hope my colleagues will join Senator Leahy in moving this bill forward. But, as Governor Ryan and others have recognized, flaws in our system unfortunately go well beyond access to DNA testing.
Snitches tell lies.
Confessions are coerced or fabricated. Racism trumps truth. Lab tests are rigged. Defense lawyers sleep. Indeed, Scheck and Neufeld note that eyewitness error is the single most important cause of wrongful convictions.