California death row inmates give DNA to help solve crimes
Tuesday November 26, 2002
SACRAMENTO (AP) California's death row inmates are now
complying with a state law that requires them to give DNA samples
for a genetic data bank for crime investigations.
A 1997 lawsuit had been keeping 618 death row inmates from
providing their genetic profiles to the state. But in May, a state
appellate court rejected the basis of the legal challenge.
This week, the California Department of Corrections collected
saliva, a palm print and some blood from each condemned inmate. The
samples will be added to a state data bank, which already includes
more than 60,000 inmates who aren't on death row.
``There's tremendous potential to solve cases through matching
DNA,'' said Larry Brown, executive director of the California
District Attorneys Association.
``Obviously, these are some of the worst offenders we have
incarcerated in California. Among the 600 or so, it's almost a
certainty that there are large numbers of unsolved crimes that are
any one of their handiwork.''
The DNA samples are turned into personal genetic profiles that
are cross-matched with evidence left at the crime scene, typically
in blood, semen or saliva.
Even though death row inmates will most likely spend their lives
in prison, it's still to important to determine any connection to
unsolved crimes, said Anne Marie Schubert, a Sacramento County
deputy district attorney.
``The most important aspect is getting these families the
justice they've been waiting for for decades,'' said Schubert, who
is heading the county's effort to solve old crimes using DNA
evidence.
Schubert and a team of Sacramento County authorities already
have identified 100 unsolved cases that might have DNA evidence and
could potentially be solved by using the data bank.
In 1997, a death row inmate sued the state, claiming the
Department of Corrections would violate her constitutional rights
to privacy because she's no longer a public safety threat.
The department refrained from collecting DNA samples from death
row inmates until the lawsuit was resolved.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)