subject: Beware Of Donating Your DNA [print this page] Beware Of Donating Your DNA Beware Of Donating Your DNA
Police departments are storing genetic samples from adults arrested for felonies, whether they go on to charge those people or not. The FBI and other states now collect DNA samples from immigrants who are detained, and some states store genetic samples from people found guilty of misdemeanors.
In Orange County, California, the District Attorney's Office will dismiss a simple misdemeanor charge, like possession of marijuana, if you give them your DNA sample.
The intent is to create a large genetic database that will allow police to solve more crimes, but critics say the cumulative effect may be unconstitutional. Criminal justice experts cite the Fourth Amendment privacy concerns and worry that the nation is becoming a genetic surveillance society.
I heard people say it's only used to find criminals and if you don't commit crimes you have nothing to worry about. Wrong! Here are actual cases where a person was not the perpetrator but in some cases agreed to plea because the attorney said that DNA is infallible.
In a child rape case in January of 2004 in Tacoma lab, a forensic scientist failed to change gloves between handling evidence in two cases. When later he noticed contamination in chemical solution the Defendant was already convicted and sent to prison.
Another Forensic expert contaminated evidence in a King County rape case with DNA from a previous case, likely by failing to properly sterilize scissors.
In a rape/attempted murder case another expert misinterpreted DNA results, telling Seattle police their suspect was a match. Co-worker caught error 11 days later, just as charges were about to be filed.
Contamination and other errors in DNA analysis have occurred in crime labs all over the country. DNA tests are only as reliable as the humans doing them -- a troubling prospect when dealing with evidence that has the power to exonerate suspects or imprison them for life.
Even the state-of-the-art FBI crime lab in Quantico, Va., was shaken by scandal recently when a DNA analyst was caught falsifying her lab reports over a two-year period. Blake skipped an important step in her DNA tests, then lied about it.
The lesson to be learned? Avoid giving your DNA if possible because you don't have to commit a crime to be mistakenly charged or convicted of one.
