DE Sen. Hoffner Advocates Push for Post-conviction Reform with Suite of Bills

Image courtesy Delaware.gov

Delaware State Senator Kyra Hoffner (D-14) and Innocence Project Delaware have announced a suite of three reform bills that push for post-conviction reform. Senate Bills 214, 57 and 58 are aimed at addressing wrongful convictions and cold cases in Delaware.

Senate Bill 214 would mandate the proper preservation and retention of biological evidence from crime scenes. Delaware is one of 6 states without a formal evidence preservation statute.

SB 57 would modernize Delaware’s post-conviction DNA statute and SB 58 would create a formal process for innocent individuals to challenge their convictions in court if forensic evidence in their case has been discredited or new forensic evidence emerges.

Since 1989 only five people are known to have been exonerated in Delaware in contrast to nearly 4000 recorded nationwide.

Additional information from Innocence Project Delaware:

Delaware’s five known exonerations stand in stark contrast to the nearly 4,000 recorded nationwide since 1989. This disparity is not a reflection of a perfect system, but rather the result of outdated legal barriers that prevent the wrongfully convicted from proving their innocence. To address this, Senator Kyra Hoffner (D-14th) and Innocence Project Delaware (IPD) today announced a suite of legislative reforms aimed at addressing wrongful convictions and cold cases in Delaware.

The center of this effort is a new bill, Senate Bill 214 that would mandate the proper preservation and retention of biological evidence from crime scenes. Delaware is one of only six states in the nation without a formal evidence preservation statute, meaning there are no consistent, evidence–based procedures for properly preserving, storing, and retaining vital forensic evidence.

“As The First State, Delaware should not be the last state to implement proper preservation of biological evidence. Failing to do so unjustly denies wrongfully convicted Delawareans a fair chance to prove their innocence,” said Senator Kyra Hoffner, Sponsor of SB 214, SB 57, and SB 58. “To ensure a more just and safer society, we must adopt consistent, evidence-based guidelines for preserving, storing, and retaining evidence – standards that are critical to uncovering wrongful convictions.”

Biological evidence (like blood, semen, hair) from a crime scene is crucial to proving someone’s innocence. Senate Bill 214 would require the state to automatically preserve and retain biological evidence for the length of time the case is unsolved, or the defendant is convicted and incarcerated, or subject to the collateral consequence of the sentence. 

This new measure coincides with two previously introduced bills (Senate Substitute 1 (SS1) for Senate Bill 57 and SS1 for Senate Bill 58) that would update access to postconviction DNA testing and address the misapplication of forensic evidence. Together, the legislative package ensures that justice in Delaware is defined by the truth, not by procedural technicalities.

Since 2020, IPD has received nearly 200 requests for post-conviction assistance, underscoring how difficult it is for innocent people to prove their claims in The First State. Without the passage of these three bills, innocent individuals wrongfully incarcerated have no means of proving their innocence through DNA testing or if new evidence arises. Delaware is falling far behind the rest of the country when it comes to exonerations. 

“With over 630 DNA exonerations nationwide, including 38 people on death row, the data is clear: access to evidence is a matter of life and death,” said Dan Signs, Staff Attorney, Innocence Project Delaware. “We applaud Senator Hoffner for sponsoring this bold package of legislation that addresses gaps in our system and protects the innocent. If evidence is destroyed or inaccessible, the truth remains buried. These bills open the path to justice for victims, and exoneration for wrongfully convicted individuals.” 

This suite of legislation is designed to update Delaware’s laws concerning post-conviction DNA testing and address the misuse of forensic evidence. Passing this legislation would allow Delaware to rectify past injustices and bring the state in line with national standards. 

SS1 for Senate Bill 57 would modernize Delaware’s post-conviction DNA statute to eliminate the time bar, ensuring that individuals who have been wrongfully incarcerated for many years, particularly those convicted before the widespread use of DNA testing, can now access testing. Currently, Delaware is only one of seven states that has not updated its law to reflect these changes. The bill also gives individuals an opportunity to petition for post-conviction DNA testing in court to prove their innocence even if they pled guilty. This brings Delaware in line with the standard followed in 45 other states as well as the District of Columbia. The bill also removes outdated technological restrictions and updates the standard of review, making justice more accessible. The passage of this bill prevents an overly complicated legal process from getting in the way of the wrongfully imprisoned proving their innocence.

SS1 for Senate Bill 58 would create a formal process for innocent individuals to challenge their convictions in court if the forensic evidence in their case has been discredited or new forensic evidence emerges, aiming to create a fairer and more accurate criminal legal system. Over time, DNA testing and breakthroughs in forensic science have exposed flaws in the scientific foundations that were once widely accepted and used to secure past convictions.  Some discredited disciplines include:

• Bite Mark Analysis 
• Hair Comparisons
• Arson Investigations
• Comparative bullet lead analysis

The two post-conviction reform bills introduced by Sen. Hoffner in 2025 are currently awaiting consideration in the Senate Finance Committee and SB 214 is expected to be heard in the Senate Corrections & Public Safety Committee later this month.

ABOUT INNOCENCE PROJECT DELAWARE 

Founded in 2018, Innocence Project Delaware (also known as Innocence Delaware, Inc.) fights to correct and prevent wrongful convictions and ensure justice within the criminal legal system for innocent people in Delaware who are imprisoned for a crime they did not commit. IPD is the only organization in Delaware solely dedicated to freeing the wrongfully convicted. We provide pro bono legal representation, forensic testing, case investigation, and an experienced legal team to exonerate innocent Delawareans.