Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowLegislation that would require every person arrested after June 30 for certain crimes to submit a DNA sample failed to pass the Senate Tuesday.
Senators voted 16-34 against Senate Bill 245 that said anyone arrested for burglary, residential entry, a crime of violence or a sex offense must provide a DNA sample. Those samples would be expunged if the person was acquitted, the charges were dismissed, or no charges were filed after 30 days.
Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in Maryland v. King, 12-207, in which the justices are asked to decide whether the Fourth Amendment allows states to collect and analyze DNA from people arrested and charged with serious crimes.
Justice Samuel Alito Jr. called it “the most important criminal procedure case this court has had in decades.”
Maryland began collecting DNA samples from arrestees charged with violent crimes and burglary in 2009. Alonzo Jay King is one of the people convicted from the process. His DNA, taken after he was arrested for assault, matched evidence in a 2003 sexual assault case. He was found guilty of first-degree rape and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The Indiana Senate reconvenes Monday.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.