Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has awarded Franklin County a $551,737 grant to fund the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) through the Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence program. These funds will allow the office to create the conviction integrity unit and conduct postconviction DNA analysis following receipt of a claim of innocence based on DNA.
“These funds will help establish the first of its kind system to enhance the ability of Ohio law enforcement and prosecutors to identify and charge offenders as well as exonerate individuals wrongfully convicted of crimes,” said Brown.
Under the Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence Program, the Bureau of Justice Assistance provides funding to help defray the costs (e.g., additional personnel, overtime, testing supplies and services) associated with postconviction DNA testing for violent felony offenses, as defined by state law, in which actual innocence might be demonstrated.
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