House panel approves bill that OKs DNA samples after arrests
5/14/2008 12:19 AM   1 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend

By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press
COLUMBIA (AP) -- People charged with a felony in South Carolina would have to submit DNA samples upon arrest under legislation approved Tuesday by a House committee.
The bill now heads to the House floor. The Senate approved it in January.
Under the measure, adults charged with crimes punishable by at least five years in prison, or charged with eavesdropping, peeping or stalking, must submit saliva or tissue samples for a state DNA database. Juveniles would be exempt, though a sample could be gained through a court order.
Proponents say the samples could be used to solve unrelated crimes. The state already takes DNA samples from people convicted of felonies.
Jeff Moore, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association, said expanding the database will help catch criminals before they commit more crimes.
"I'm excited. This is absolutely one of the best crime-prevention tools we've ever had," he said. "Getting them convicted of their crimes early on keeps them off the streets."
House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who urged the committee to pass the bill, said the DNA database will make it easier to both convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent.
Rep. Doug Jennings, D-Bennettsville, called it "the wave of the future in crime-solving."
House Judiciary members made some changes they believe address lawmakers' concerns about privacy. Changes included requiring the information to be automatically removed from the state database if the individual is later cleared, rather than requiring the accused to go through an expungement process.
The changes specify that only law enforcement in America could access the database, and says someone who uses the database illegally can be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to five years.
Republican Rep. Kris Crawford, who proposed the changes, said the uses and extent of personal information DNA can provide is still being discovered, and lawmakers should be careful about giving access.
Last year, the Florence doctor was among the House members who upheld Gov. Mark Sanford's veto of the idea.
"I believe this bill takes too big a bite from the foundation of civil liberty and privacy that are the hallmark of the American way of life," the Republican governor wrote in his veto message last June.
He noted DNA includes information about disease predisposition, ancestry, and familial relationships.
"If one believes that knowledge is power then without limiting DNA collection to those who have been convicted -- not simply charged -- we confer an awesome power to government given the personal information government would now house," Sanford concluded.
Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor would "obviously take a close look" at the amended bill, should it reach his desk, but he's still concerned about taking DNA upon arrest.
At least 13 states have similar laws: Alaska, Arizona, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Last month, the Justice Department announced plans to begin collecting DNA samples from anyone arrested by a federal law enforcement agency. Jesselyn McCurdy, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said then that the new federal regulation would mean the federal government could store DNA samples of people who are not guilty of any crime.

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