Maddy deLone is the interim executive director of the Innocence Project Delaware and a former 16-year executive director of the Innocence Project based in New York.
As Delaware’s legislative session barrels toward its June 30 deadline, the clock isn’t just ticking for lawmakers; it’s ticking for wrongfully convicted Delawareans fighting for their freedom in a state that has minimal paths forward. Right now, the General Assembly is sitting on two critical, long-overdue pieces of legislation that could mean the difference between freedom and a lifetime behind bars for the innocent.
The First State remains one of the last to update its DNA-testing law, making it one of the most restrictive in the country. Science has evolved over the last 20 years, but our laws have not, and innocent Delawareans are the ones paying the price — since 1989, Delaware has recorded zero DNA exonerations compared to hundreds nationally. Newer, more advanced DNA-testing techniques have the power to exonerate individuals whose earlier tests yielded inconclusive results, yet barriers in our laws make DNA testing impossible to access.
Bipartisan-backed Senate Bill 57, sponsored by Sen. Kyra Hoffner, D-Dover, will finally modernize Delaware’s postconviction DNA-testing law by:
But passing this bill is not just about updating our laws; it is about promoting public safety and making our criminal legal system fair.
This is an issue that transcends political divides. Each of us can agree that supporting access to DNA testing benefits everyone: DNA that exonerates the innocent can also identify the actual perpetrator, delivering justice to crime victims and enhancing community safety, which restores public trust in our justice system.
At the same time, this proposed legislation has sparked unfounded fears about overwhelming the legal system, and it’s important to correct the record. Throughout the 43 states that have already updated their testing laws, none experienced a massive surge in frivolous cases or significant impact on resources. Further, our state has significantly fewer people incarcerated compared to jurisdictions that successfully implemented similar laws.
Here, at home, the Innocence Project Delaware, our state’s only organization focused exclusively on addressing and preventing wrongful convictions, thoroughly investigates and provides free legal representation to wrongfully incarcerated individuals with claims of actual innocence. Yet our state’s outdated and restrictive laws have prevented us from serving our clients. This legislation is about cracking the door open, so innocent Delawareans can have their days in court; no person would be released from prison the day this law takes effect. Instead, by passing SB 57, Delaware can finally step out of the past, align its laws with modern science and ensure that justice is never blocked by an arbitrary clock.
Testing access means nothing, however, if the evidence itself is lost or destroyed. Unfortunately, Delaware is one of just six states in the nation that lacks an evidence preservation statute. Senate Bill 214 fixes this dangerous gap by establishing nationally recognized standards for how biological evidence is automatically and properly preserved, stored and retained.
These changes aren’t just mere technicalities; the legislative updates represent a vital gateway for the wrongfully convicted who are currently imprisoned due to antiquated statutes. More than 630 wrongfully convicted people have been exonerated through DNA evidence — including 38 people from death row — because the biological evidence in their case was preserved and available for testing.
If the General Assembly doesn’t pass these bills before the final gavel falls this month, innocent people will remain trapped in Delaware prisons on bureaucratic technicalities for at least another year. By passing SB 57 and SB 214, Delaware can finally step out of the past, align its laws with modern science and ensure that justice is never blocked by an expiration date or a misplaced piece of evidence.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
