Editorial
Congress takes up a real 'crime bill'

Most of the time when Congress considers a "crime bill," it is legislation designed to show how tough members are on the offense of the moment.

But recently, Congress began moving on a crime bill that is worthy of the name and worthy of sustained congressional attention.

The measure is called the Innocence Protection Act, and it is designed to bring a greater degree of fairness to the capital punishment process.

Rationally, Congress should help the United States join most of the rest of the civilized world and simply eliminate the death penalty. But short of that, the Innocence Act shows great promise.

The measure would use the carrot-and-stick of federal law enforcement grants to guarantee that inmates have access to biological evidence for DNA testing. Federal prisoners would get this access automatically; states would be encouraged to adopt similar procedures in exchange for federal grants.

Under the proposed law, states would also not be allowed to block efforts by death-row inmates to get the DNA tests that could prove their innocence.

One portion of the bill, however, has run into objections. This section would set up a national commission on minimum standards for legal representation in capital cases. This proposal is in response to horror stories of shoddy or inept representation.

Some lawmakers say Congress has no business setting nationwide standards for 50 separate legal systems.

But it is unavoidably true that poor representation is one of the major reasons innocent clients end up on death row with DNA evidence their last chance out.

While the DNA reform is important, so too is the matter of ensuring that each defendant has access to competent representation.