Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence

Program goal(s) name: Assist states and units of local government with postconviction DNA testing in cases of violent felony offenses where actual innocence might be demonstrated.

Program goal(s) description: Conduct review of cases involving violent felony offenses (as defined by state law) where actual innocence might be demonstrated through the use of DNA testing and improve practices involving preservation of biological evidence and/or modernization of record retention in adjudicated cases.

Program objective(s) name: Improve and modernize processes to locate, store and retain biological samples for DNA testing in postconviction cases.

Program objective(s) description: Identify potential postconviction DNA testing cases; Review appropriate postconviction cases to identify those in which DNA testing could prove the actual innocence of a person convicted of a violent felony offense as defined by state law; Locate biological evidence associated with such postconviction cases; Perform DNA analysis of appropriate biological evidence and report and review the DNA test results; Locate, record, store, and retain biological evidence in adjudicated cases in accordance with best practices; Modernize evidence retention practices for biological evidence in accordance with best practices; Modernize and digitize the storage of existing files and records in adjudicated cases.

All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.

The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.