Shouldn't Fear New DNA Law

Washington, MO

On Thursday Missouri joined 15 other states and the federal government in requiring DNA samples be taken from those arrested for certain crimes. Most states, including Missouri, were already collecting DNA from those convicted of crimes.

The legislation Gov. Jay Nixon signed this week requires DNA be taken from people age 17 and older who are arrested on suspicion of violent felonies, sex offenses or burglary. The DNA samples will be destroyed, according to the Associated Press, if charges aren't filed or are dropped or if the suspect is acquitted at trial.

Nixon said the law would help speed up criminal investigations and ensure that the right people are convicted and the innocent exonerated.

Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue the new law is an unconstitutional violation of privacy and render suspects guilty until proven innocent.

An ACLU lobbyist warned that DNA provides data about health conditions and could be used for more than identification if abused by prosecutors.

We don't see the bill as that controversial. Police already have the right to take fingerprints from those arrested as well as blood-alcohol tests from suspected drunk drivers. As far as scientific tests go, DNA isn't much different, only the next step in the evolution of biometric crime-solving technology.

You can argue that the new law persecutes the innocent but the reverse is also true. DNA evidence has also been used to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted. Nationwide, 238 people have been freed with the help of DNA evidence according to the Innocence Project, a legal clinic based in New York. Of those 14 were originally sentenced to death.

The innocent have nothing to fear from this legislation and, ultimately, DNA samples collected under the new law will probably aide someone wrongfully incarcerated.

The new law will help bolster the state's DNA database which will in turn help to solve more crimes. We agree with supporters of the legislation that the crime-solving capabilities of an expanded DNA database outweigh the privacy concerns. Plus, if charges are dropped, the DNA samples will be discarded. We view this as an adequate safeguard to those who are innocent.

There's no doubt DNA solves crimes. This week, a Kansas City man already serving a 12-year sentence for a 2007 rape was sentenced to 25 more years for a 2001 rape after being connected to the case through DNA. And in Kansas, an inmate serving time for burglaries in Lenexa has been linked by DNA to a rape that happened 15 years ago.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
International Association for Property and Evidence
"Law Enforcement Serving the Needs of Law Enforcement"
www.IAPE.org