Lawmakers want to rewrite prison DNA law

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) -- A Michigan lawmaker who authored a decade-old state law that requires inmates in the state's prisons to provide samples of their DNA supports rewriting the law to help detectives solve more cold cases. State Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake Township, tells WOOD-TV that officials should be able to take DNA samples at any time from the state's inmates -- and not just before they are set for release, as has been the practice in the state's prison system. He and other lawmakers and cold-case detectives believe obtaining DNA samples from thousands of inmates who have refused the DNA tests would allow law enforcement to solve hundreds, if not thousands, of crimes. Kowall was a state representative when he wrote the law in 2001. The legislation took effect the next year and specifies that all prisoners must provide a DNA sample prior to release. However, about 6,000 inmates have refused to take the tests. And prison leaders and the state's Attorney General's Office believe they cannot take a prisoner's DNA by force until just before an inmate gets out. They worry that doing it sooner would risk violating a prisoner's constitutional rights. "The law's been in place for a decade; it's been interpreted by everybody that's been in place the last 10 years, exactly the same way," Attorney General spokesman John Sellek said. "We don't want to give a violent criminal a chance to sue the state and make money off this." The law isn't an issue for most prisoners because sheriffs usually take samples before sending convicts to prison. But most of the 6,000 inmates who have refused the tests were in prison before sheriffs started taking such samples. Ionia County Prosecutor Ronald Schafer, the president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, said prosecutors across the state were shocked to learn recently that prisons were not taking the samples. "We were all equally frustrated," Schafer said. "We assumed that this was happening." The AG's office contends that the law was meant to track prisoners once they're released, not to solve cold cases. "The way the law was written 10 years ago did not contemplate looking backward to collect evidence," Sellek said. "It was looking forward to people who might get released from jail or prison and how do we make sure we can keep an eye on them after they go, if they commit another crime." But Kowall and the AG's office and key lawmakers all support new legislation recently introduced by Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, that would require all inmates to provide DNA by December 1. Similar legislation failed last year. Published: Tue, May 10, 2011

––––––––––––––––––––
 Subscribe to the Legal News!
 https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available