As a member of the Commission of Forensic Science, District Attorney James A. Murphy, III has helped open doors in criminal investigations.
Murphy announced last week that the New York State Commission on Forensic Science is eliminating a regulatory barrier that prevents forensic laboratories from receiving critical DNA information that, in many cases, helps to lead investigators to the perpetrator.
The former regulation barred forensic officials from releasing information on partial DNA matches that are found in the DNA Databank. This means if DNA from a crime scene is run thorough the Databank to cross reference the DNA found at the scene with past convicted felons and a partial match is found, officials could not release the information because the DNA is not an exact match. A partial DNA match indicates that the DNA from the crime scene belongs to a blood relative who is already in the Databank.
"Partial matches are so specific that they lead us to a relative of the person whose DNA was submitted. This created frustrations that this information couldn't be released because it gives investigators leads to follow up on," Murphy said. "The new regulation will help law enforcement narrow the focus of the search. This is critical information."
Those who oppose the release of partial match DNA information, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, believe this is invasive and like "Big Brother." Murphy said they believe that this violates a conscious right to privacy, but he disagrees.
"It's like a witness of a car accident calling police with a partial license plate number. Officers investigate every lead they get. They run the color and make of the car along with the partial plate number," he said.
Murphy spoke of the case of Darryl Hunt, a man who was wrongly convicted of rape and murder in 1984 in North Carolina. He spent more than 19 years in prison before he was exonerated by DNA evidence. Partial match DNA leads cleared Hunt of the crime and proved that his brother, Willard Brown actually committed the rape and murder.
"It's a shield and a sword. In Hunt's case, it freed an innocent man from life in prison. That's what we strive to do. Free the innocent and convict the guilty," Murphy said. "Public safety outweighs individual rights, especially when a rape or murder is involved."
New York State's DNA Databank currently contains nearly 341,000 offender profiles and approximately 28,000 crime scene profiles. Since its inception in 1994, there have been nearly 6,000 matches resulting in 1,300 convictions. Since January, 7,630 leads have been investigated through the DNA Databank.
DNA is collected when a person is convicted of any felony and 32 misdemeanor charges. Murphy said he would like to see the collection extended to all misdemeanor charges and have DNA collected at the time of arrests, the same time as fingerprints and mug shots are taken. Currently, a person is given a court order to submit a DNA sample when they are convicted of the crime; however many people ignore the court order and never give the sample.
"There are thousands of people who owe the Database. It's a challenge to get them back to the station to give the sample. It's a complicated process that needs proof that the order was served," he said. "If DNA was collected at the time of fingerprinting and mug shots and the person was found innocent, the DNA would be destroyed, along with the mugs and prints."
While there are still changes Murphy would like to see made, the new policy for partial match DNA is an advancement for crime scene investigations.
"It will save money and time to investigate and will help to make sure the right person is charged for the crime," he said. "The positives outweigh the negatives."
The former regulation barred forensic officials from releasing information on partial DNA matches that are found in the DNA Databank. This means if DNA from a crime scene is run thorough the Databank to cross reference the DNA found at the scene with past convicted felons and a partial match is found, officials could not release the information because the DNA is not an exact match. A partial DNA match indicates that the DNA from the crime scene belongs to a blood relative who is already in the Databank.
"Partial matches are so specific that they lead us to a relative of the person whose DNA was submitted. This created frustrations that this information couldn't be released because it gives investigators leads to follow up on," Murphy said. "The new regulation will help law enforcement narrow the focus of the search. This is critical information."
Those who oppose the release of partial match DNA information, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, believe this is invasive and like "Big Brother." Murphy said they believe that this violates a conscious right to privacy, but he disagrees.
"It's like a witness of a car accident calling police with a partial license plate number. Officers investigate every lead they get. They run the color and make of the car along with the partial plate number," he said.
Murphy spoke of the case of Darryl Hunt, a man who was wrongly convicted of rape and murder in 1984 in North Carolina. He spent more than 19 years in prison before he was exonerated by DNA evidence. Partial match DNA leads cleared Hunt of the crime and proved that his brother, Willard Brown actually committed the rape and murder.
"It's a shield and a sword. In Hunt's case, it freed an innocent man from life in prison. That's what we strive to do. Free the innocent and convict the guilty," Murphy said. "Public safety outweighs individual rights, especially when a rape or murder is involved."
New York State's DNA Databank currently contains nearly 341,000 offender profiles and approximately 28,000 crime scene profiles. Since its inception in 1994, there have been nearly 6,000 matches resulting in 1,300 convictions. Since January, 7,630 leads have been investigated through the DNA Databank.
DNA is collected when a person is convicted of any felony and 32 misdemeanor charges. Murphy said he would like to see the collection extended to all misdemeanor charges and have DNA collected at the time of arrests, the same time as fingerprints and mug shots are taken. Currently, a person is given a court order to submit a DNA sample when they are convicted of the crime; however many people ignore the court order and never give the sample.
"There are thousands of people who owe the Database. It's a challenge to get them back to the station to give the sample. It's a complicated process that needs proof that the order was served," he said. "If DNA was collected at the time of fingerprinting and mug shots and the person was found innocent, the DNA would be destroyed, along with the mugs and prints."
While there are still changes Murphy would like to see made, the new policy for partial match DNA is an advancement for crime scene investigations.
"It will save money and time to investigate and will help to make sure the right person is charged for the crime," he said. "The positives outweigh the negatives."
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This article appears to be confusing Partial DNA matches, where for some reason the complete profile was not detected with Familial Testing a situation where the DNA profile matches at some alleles but do not match at others.