WHEREAS, DNA testing is uniquely capable, among forensic disciplines, of conclusively identifying the perpetrator of a crime; and
WHEREAS, According to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf, 333 people, including 12 Pennsylvanians, have been exonerated by DNA testing to date; and
WHEREAS, Among those 333 cases, 163 actual perpetrators have been identified, enabling their conviction for 145 additional crimes, including 77 rapes and 34 murders; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania’s Act 109, enacted in 2002, has enhanced conviction integrity but, nevertheless, does not ensure that persons convicted of crimes have full and fair access to DNA testing in the post-conviction context; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1134 removes several current statutory and judicially created barriers to testing, including requirements that a petitioner be currently serving a sentence, and not have pleaded guilty; and
WHEREAS, These modifications bring Pennsylvania into closer conformity with emerging national standards for post-conviction DNA testing; and
WHEREAS, These enhanced safeguards will advance the critical goal of increased conviction integrity, ensuring that innocent individuals are not unjustly incarcerated and that actual perpetrators are brought to justice; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Council hereby urges the Pennsylvania State Legislature to adopt Senate Bill 1134, which seeks to enhance conviction integrity in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by ensuring access to post-conviction DNA testing.
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