Bill seeks to prohibit using DNA databases to solve crime
After police used a new technique to arrest a man
suspected of being the Golden State Killer, a Maryland legislator
proposed a law that would prohibit use of a familial DNA database for
the purpose of crime-solving.
House bill 30,
sponsored by Delegate Charles Sydnor, D-Baltimore County, seeks to
prohibit searches of consumer genealogical databases for the purpose of
identifying an offender in connection with a crime through their
biological relative’s DNA samples.
In 1994, the
state enacted the Maryland DNA Collection Act, which authorized the
gathering of DNA for an official investigation of a crime, to identify
human remains, and to identify missing persons, among other purposes.
In
2008, Chapter 337 amended the Collection Act to allow the state to
gather and retain DNA from people arrested for burglary or violent
crimes at the time of their arrest.
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