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Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans support the death
penalty. But the growing number of accused criminals who have been
exonerated by DNA evidence and alarming instances of inadequate legal
counsel in death penalty cases have convinced many that the United
States’ capital punishment system is irrevocably broken and
needs to be reformed. The Justice Project worked with members of Congress
to draft the Innocence Protection Act, a bill that would ensure that
accused criminals are provided with competent legal counsel and have
access to DNA testing. Glover Park Group provided The Justice Project
with strategic advice and message development, and we supported the
legislation through media outreach and op-ed placement in targeted
congressional districts, by urging editorial boards of newspapers
across the country to support the Innocence Protection Act. By the
conclusion of the 107th session of Congress, the bill had the support
of a majority of members of the House of Representatives, was cosponsored
by 31 Senators and was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee
on a bi-partisan 12-7 vote.
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