To award a congressional gold medal to Barry C. Scheck and to Peter Neufeld in recognition of their outstanding service to the Nation and to justice as co-founders and co-directors of the Innocence Project.

This bill proposed awarding the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, to Barry C. Scheck and Peter Neufeld for their work as co-founders of the Innocence Project. The legislation sought to recognize their pioneering use of DNA testing to exonerate hundreds of wrongfully convicted individuals and their efforts to reform the criminal justice system.

For everyday citizens, the bill highlighted the importance of ensuring legal accuracy and protecting the innocent from wrongful imprisonment. While the bill was introduced in 2008 and did not move past the committee stage to become law, it aimed to honor service that has fundamentally changed how forensic evidence is used to safeguard civil liberties in the United States.