*The Debbie Smith Act is Public Law*
I met Debbie Smith in June 2001 at a hearing I held in the Government Reform Committee on DNA. When she was done telling her story, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. I decided to author legislation titled “The Debbie Smith Act” in the 107th Congress to get rapists off the streets. Mrs. Smith was unable to identify her masked attacker, but DNA is better than many eyewitness accounts. DNA doesn't forget, and DNA cannot be intimidated by defense counsel. Six years after Mrs. Smith was raped, DNA helped to identify her attacker.
In 2004 “The Debbie Smith Act” was signed into law as part of the “Justice for All Act” (P.L. 108-405). “The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act” was signed into law in 2008 (P.L. 110-360). P.L. 110-360 authorizes $151 million in each fiscal year from FY2009-FY2014 to process DNA evidence, and it reauthorizes programs for training and education and sexual assault forensic exam grants.
**For information regarding DNA evidence collected for a specific victim or offender, please contact the state/local crime lab, law enforcement agency, hospital, or prison responsible for collecting and testing that sample. For information regarding the laws in your state/locality, please contact the office of your state attorney general, local district attorney's office, magistrate, or Member of Congress.**
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