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| Some Inmates Say 'No' to DNA Sample |
| By USA Today |
| Published: 04/29/2002 |
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Inmates nationwide are refusing to give authorities DNA samples that could link them to other crimes, threatening nascent efforts to build a nationwide database of convicts' genetic profiles that officials say could help clear thousands of unsolved cases. The refusals are centered in California, where since last summer more than 900 inmates in at least five prisons have declined to give samples, prison officials say. Refusals ''have broken out sporadically in the past, but the California situation seems unique,'' says Dawn Herkenham, a consultant to the FBI on DNA database laws. During the past 13 years, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws setting up crime-fighting databases. They work by taking DNA, a cellular acid that contains an individual's unique genetic code, and matching it by computer to the codes found in blood, semen and other body fluids left at crime scenes. Since the mid-1990s, 11 states have passed laws permitting authorities to use ''reasonable force'' to take samples from reluctant inmates. In California, prison officials have used administrative sanctions, including a loss of parole credits, to try to coax inmates into cooperating. Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for California's corrections department, says the department has used court orders permitting the use of force to obtain samples from about 30 inmates. A bill that would permit authorities to force inmates to comply without seeking a court order is scheduled to be taken up April 30 by a state Senate panel. |
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