{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/rhode-island-to-receive-500000-to-improve-dna-evidence-processing-bring-justice-to-victims-of-cold-cases", "Rhode Island to Receive $500,000 to Improve DNA Evidence Processing & Bring Justice to Victims of Cold Cases", "2024-09-25", "2024", "2024-09", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Gabe Amo", "A000380", "amo.house.gov", "amo", "https://amo.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 In an effort to help Rhode Island\u2019s law enforcement community close cases on violent crimes that, in many cases, have been left unsolved for decades, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today announced that the Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha will receive a $500,000 federal grant for the office\u2019s cold case unit of investigators and prosecutors.\n\nThe federal funds are administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program. The Attorney General\u2019s Office will utilize the funds for its \u201cClosure Project\u201d to strengthen the state\u2019s DNA analysis capabilities and search capacity, better inventory cold cases, and review and select cases that have developed DNA suspect profiles to assist investigators in prosecuting suspects. The Rhode Island Department of Health will also receive funding from the grant, which will help provide additional capacity for DNA analysis in cold cases.\n\n\u201cThis federal funding for Attorney General Neronha and his skilled team of prosecutors, investigators, and law enforcement personnel will help make Rhode Island safer and will bring justice to victims of violent crimes and their families who have gone too long without answers and deserve closure,\u201d said Senator Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. \u201cModern technology is constantly adding new tools that are incredibly useful to investigators. By strengthening Rhode Island\u2019s ability to efficiently process and inventory DNA evidence, we\u2019re making a smart investment in public safety, reducing violent crime, and bolstering our ability to pursue justice.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo victim of a violent crime should have to wait decades for justice to be served,\u201d said Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former U.S. Attorney and Rhode Island Attorney General. \u201cThis federal investment will strengthen the state\u2019s ability to process DNA evidence and prosecute violent cold cases, bringing justice and closure to victims and their families \u2013 a high priority of Attorney General Neronha\u2019s.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe must always remain dogged in the pursuit of justice for victims of violent crime and their loved ones,\u201d said Rep. Seth Magaziner. \u201cThis federal funding will be used to help identify suspects through modern forensic analysis, make Rhode Island safer by holding offenders accountable, and bring closure to families who have been waiting for answers.\u201d\n\n\u201cJustice delayed should never be justice denied for victims of violent crime and their loved ones,\u201d said Congressman Gabe Amo. \u201cAs technology advances and techniques improve to help identify perpetrators, I support investing in our state\u2019s forensic capabilities to pursue cold cases and protect public safety. I\u2019m pleased to join my colleagues in announcing that this grant will support the tireless efforts of the Rhode Island Attorney General\u2019s \u2018Closure Project\u2019 initiative.\u201d\n\n\u201cCold cases tend to be unique in their complexity, and yet they all have at least one thing in common: delayed justice for victims and their loved ones,\u201d said Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. \u201cNew scientific and investigatory advancements have reignited hope in the hearts of those waiting years, sometimes decades, for answers. Since the creation of our Cold Case Unit, a talented team of investigators, prosecutors, and analysts has been working diligently to solve these cases, and already seeing results. I want to thank Senators Reed and Whitehouse and Representatives Amo and Magaziner for their support, and to Rhode Island House Speaker Shekarchi and Senate President Ruggerio for helping to fund this important work on behalf of Rhode Islanders.\u201d\n\nThe DOJ Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program provides resources and support for the prosecution of violent cold cases where a suspect of the crime, known or unknown, has been identified through DNA evidence and analysis. Funding from this program can also be used to support investigations and crime and forensic analyses when a DNA profile has been attributed to a known or unknown suspect.\n\nLast year, Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha launched a new Cold Case Unit within the Office to advance investigations that could benefit from the application of modern DNA analysis. The Unit is comprised of two prosecutors, four investigators, an intelligence analyst, and a Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) employee currently in training at the University of New Haven for Forensic Genealogy. Since its inception, the Unit has worked with more than 12 municipalities in actively investigating 18 cold cases. These federal funds announced today will assist the unit in strategically improving its ability to identify potential cases ready for prosecution, and when DNA profiles of suspects have been established, can also help to advance investigations.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/rhode-island-to-receive-500000-to-improve-dna-evidence-processing-bring-justice-to-victims-of-cold-cases"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5001390129327774, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}