Sen. Doug Jones today introduced a bill his office says will pave the way for the release of records pertaining to civil rights era cold cases.

The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 would require the National Archives and Records Administration to create a collection of government documents related to civil rights cold cases and to make those documents available to the public, Jones' office announced today.

The legislation was originally envisioned by students from Hightstown High School in Hightstown, New Jersey, and their teacher, Stuart Wexler.

"Having prosecuted two civil rights cold cases in Alabama, I know firsthand the importance of having every available piece of information at your disposal," Jones said.

"This bill will ensure public access to records relating to these cases and will expand the universe of people who can help investigate these crimes, including journalists, historians, private investigators, local law enforcement, and others. We might not solve every one of these cold cases, but my hope is that this legislation will help us find some long-overdue healing and understanding of the truth in the more than 100 unsolved civil rights criminal cases that exist today."

Jones said the legislation is necessary because the Freedom of Information Act has prevented the timely and adequate disclosure of executive branch records, and congressional records are not subject to public disclosure under FOIA. In addition, some of these records, although almost 50 years old, remain classified unnecessarily or shielded from public view.

"We've made progress ensuring these heinous acts of violence and hatred are able to be brought to justice--but we have more work to do," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, the bill's co-sponsor. "Helping families and advocates get access to these documents could help their push towards justice for these long unsolved cold cases."

According to Jones' office, the bill would:

Require the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to establish a collection of cold case records about unsolved criminal civil rights cases that government offices must publicly disclose in the collection without redaction or withholding.