Scrutinize Cuomo's proposed DNA database expansion
20.05.12
Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposal for an all-crimes DNA database, which he made in yesterday's State of the State address, isn't getting the attention it deserves.
Cuomo wants legislation that will require anyone convicted of a felony or penal-law misdemeanor to submit a DNA sample for the state database. Thomson Reuters says that if Cuomo's proposal becomes law, New York would be the first state in the country to expand the database so broadly.
Previous governors, as well as some legislators, have pushed for some form of DNA database expansion.
In 2010, Assembly member Joe Morelle and Senator Jeff Klein, both Democrats, introduced a bill that would have required anyone arrested and charged with certain felonies to provide a DNA sample. Critics argued that it infringed on Fourth Amendment unreasonable search-and-seizure protections. The bill stalled in the Legislature.
Proponents of DNA database expansion stress the crime-solving advantages. They can help identify suspects and, in some cases, can exonerate people wrongfully convicted of crimes.
Source: Rochester City Newspaper (blog)