{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://magaziner.house.gov/media/press-releases/ri-delegation-announces-600000-reduce-forensic-dna-backlog-deliver-justice", "RI Delegation Announces $600,000 to Reduce Forensic DNA Backlog, Deliver Justice to Victims of Crimes Statewide", "2024-10-17", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Seth Magaziner", "M001223", "magaziner.house.gov", "magaziner", "https://magaziner.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Providence, RI \u2013 U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed and Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Justice Programs has awarded $600,000 in funding to the Rhode Island Department of Health\u2019s Center for Forensic Sciences to reduce the backlog of DNA casework and ensure justice can be served for victims of both violent and non-violent crimes. With this funding, the state\u2019s crime lab expects to typically process cases within 30 days for violent crimes and 90 days for non-violent crimes.\n\n\u201cNo victim of a crime should have to wait for justice to be served because of insufficient resources to analyze DNA evidence in a timely fashion,\u201d said Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former U.S. Attorney and Rhode Island Attorney General. \u201cThis federal funding will help retain qualified forensic scientists, make upgrades to the state\u2019s laboratory, and bring justice and closure to victims throughout Rhode Island.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis federal funding will help the state\u2019s crime lab effectively process DNA samples, solve more cases, and help law enforcement bring perpetrators to justice,\u201d said Senator Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.\n\n\u201cJustice ought to be delivered swiftly to victims of crime and their families, and this federal funding will make this a reality for Rhode Islanders by reducing the backlog of DNA casework and holding perpetrators accountable,\u201d said Congressman Magaziner.\n\n\u201cAs forensic technology advancements help investigators better match DNA found at crime scenes, it\u2019s critically important that we invest in new instruments and training to help secure justice for victims of crime in Rhode Island \u2014 no matter how much time has elapsed,\u201d said Congressman Amo. \u201cThis federal investment by the Department of Justice will reduce the casework backlog and bolster our state\u2019s capacity to process incoming DNA cases quickly and efficiently.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "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://magaziner.house.gov/media/press-releases/ri-delegation-announces-600000-reduce-forensic-dna-backlog-deliver-justice"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.823889160528779, "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"}