Louisiana senators Monday passed landmark legislation that would require DNA collection from all people arrested on felony charges in Louisiana. Though the legislation still needs approval from the House, given Baton Rouge’s at-large serial killer, the bill likely will see little protest from representatives.
The legislation hopes to match DNA samples from felons with unsolved crimes, thus expanding the state’s DNA database to help catch murderers, rapists and other violent offenders. It is pure in nature, but raises interesting questions about civil rights.
To start, the legislation calls for mandatory DNA testing of people arrested on felony charges. Republican Sen. Jay Dardenne, the author of the bill, said this DNA will stay in the state’s DNA databases, regardless of if the arrested party actually is convicted of a crime or not.
This means that some guilt-free individuals will have their DNA, their genetic fingerprint, listed in government databases along with that of criminals.
“Once it’s taken, it remains a part of the database,” Dardenne said.
These people, who have been exonerated by the state’s legal system, will be counted with murderers and rapists.
The legislation glosses over the fact that those arrested for crimes aren’t always convicted of them, ignoring the “innocent until proven guilty” part of our legal system.
“It’s absolutely not violating civil liberties, as far as I’m concerned,” Dardenne said. “It is not an invasive procedure. It’s done with a simple swab.”
“Given the nature of DNA and its reliability and its potential to convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent, it becomes very important, in my view, in assisting law enforcement personnel and the judicial system,” he said.
DNA has such vast potential when used in the judicial system, but the ever-evolving science of DNA is cause for caution when it comes to its collection.
Potential uses for DNA and other genetic information are expanding over time. The United States Department of Energy and National Health Institutes of Health in 1990 began the U.S. Human Genome Project, which aimed to identify the thousands on genes in human DNA.
Through this project, scientists have discovered much about human biology, including pinpointing genes associated with diseases such as breast cancer, deafness and blindness. These findings have and will continue to help scientists in treating these and other diseases in the future.
And while DNA’s health and safety-related functions seem limitless, privacy must be an important concern for those maintaining databases of DNA and other genetic information.
Though it seems to be a bit conspiracy theorist to think this, imagine what would happen if DNA and genetic codes were use to discriminate against people or families who were more likely to have certain diseases or traits.
The American Civil Liberties Union warns of a 1982 federal survey that showed almost 2 percent of responding companies used genetic testing for employment purposes. A 1997 American Management Association survey found more than 6,000 companies practiced genetic testing.
Genetic testing by employers could lead to discrimination in hiring practices. For example, if genes could be used to determine who is predisposed to have a chemical imbalance that causes depression, companies could pass on qualified people who suffer from clinical depression, even if it posed no problems in their day-to-day lives.
Therefore, treating DNA collection as if it was as harmless as fingerprinting a person is dangerous. Not only does a person’s DNA hold the key to their genetics, but it also gives hints to their family’s gene traits as well.
Given the future possibilities for gene-based discrimination, DNA should be carefully guarded.
While Dardenne and other legislators should be applauded for their public commitment in using DNA either to detect a person’s criminal guilt or innocence, state and federal officials should tread lightly on this ever-evolving territory. Unless DNA is needed specifically to determine the outcome of a case, as with a sex crime, the law should require a judge to issue a warrant to obtain genetic information from a person.
Yes, DNA will hold the key in identifying and successfully prosecuting Baton Rouge’s serial killer (and other criminals). Privacy, however, should be a pressing concern before a person’s mouth is swabbed and his or her DNA is cataloged.