Innocence Blog

Massachusetts Senate Passes DNA Access Bill

Posted: July 28, 2011 5:35 pm

The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill today that would allow access to post-conviction DNA testing. SB 1987, which is sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem, grew out of a great deal of consensus from a range of stakeholders, including law enforcement and prosecutors.

The Boston Bar Association’s task force, which was co-chaired by two former prosecutors and dedicated to improving the accuracy and reliability of the criminal justice system in Massachusetts, proposed the language contained in the cost-neutral bill.

After several proposals failed to move forward in past years, the task force was hopeful that this would be the year a bill for access to post-conviction DNA testing would pass.

The bill now goes to the House. If this bill becomes law, Massachusetts will be the 49th state with a post-conviction DNA access law and Oklahoma will be the lone state without such a measure.