DNA Samples from Innocent People
Just because you are innocent, doesn’t mean you’re not treated like a criminal in Morgan, Larimer or Weld County. Colorado law says that any adult arrested for a felony, or for the “investigation of a felony offence,” must allow their cheek to be swabbed. The DNA that is collected is added to a database the government can access. The database will be searched for matches to prior cases and for profiling (Collection of Biological Samples from Persons Arrested for or Charged with Felonies – CRS 16-23-103)
Why is Taking DNA Samples a Bad Idea?
Here at the O’Malley Law Office, we are not opposed to the collection of DNA samples when they are from convicted felons in Greeley, Eaton or Windsor. Requiring that they be collected from people who are arrested, however, is a different story. Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty” in our Weld County courts? Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia sums it up well when he says: “Your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason.” Taking samples of citizens who should be presumed to be innocent, and storing them in a database before they are convicted of a crime, is intrusive and defies basic rights.
If Proven Innocent, Can’t the DNA Samples be Removed?
The statute does allow for the removal of a person’s DNA sample from the database if they are found to be innocent. As redeeming as this might sound, however, consider the legal fees involved in getting your DNA expunged. Doing so is a similar process as Colorado’s Record Sealing Statute – CRS 24-72-308. Thousands of dollars must be spent by an innocent person to erase false accusations from their own government’s records.
What is the Answer to Collecting DNA Samples?
The criminal defense attorneys here at the O’Malley Law Office believe the statute should be changed; that the removal process be done automatically without the innocent person having to pay legal fees or go through the process of sealing their DNA records. Our rights to privacy are slowly being destroyed by a government operating from a “presumption of guilt” philosophy.
If you have been accused of or charged with a felony, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009. Together, we can protect your future.
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