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| DNA letter to felons may yield future setbacks |
| By jsonline.com |
| Published: 01/18/2010 |
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A letter being sent by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections that orders released felons to submit DNA samples or face prosecution may exceed the state's authority and undermine future cases, legal experts, defense attorneys and even one prosecutor say. The concerns are important because the use of DNA evidence obtained under questionable grounds could later be challenged in court if it is used to prosecute a future crime. The notices have been mailed out by the Corrections Department since December to about 700 of the more than 11,000 offenders whose profiles are missing from the state DNA databank and who already have completed their sentences. "If someone provides DNA because of the notice and then gets charged with a crime based on the DNA, he or she will file a motion to suppress on those grounds," retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske said. "I just think with so much uncertainty about what is allowed and not allowed, there is risk for (the department) in getting the DNA through this letter." The gap in the state's DNA databank was discovered last fall during an investigation into accused Milwaukee serial killer Walter E. Ellis, whose DNA should have been taken when he was in custody in 2001 at Oshkosh Correctional Institution. Another inmate posing as Ellis gave a DNA sample for him. Ellis is scheduled to go to trial in May for the deaths of seven women over a 21-year span. His case is an example of authorities' worst fears - the felons who have the greatest incentive to avoid having their DNA taken will be the least likely to comply unless forced to by law. Read More. |
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