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Pros And Cons Of Arresting DNA

978 Words4 Pages

Yimaj Sherif
ENG 1520
Dr. James
20 July 2015
Arresting DNA

June 25, 1999 Roger E Carlson sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint, raping her multiple times; the woman was taken to a hospital where a swab of semen was extracted from her. The woman suffered a traumatic experience and was forced to live with her rapist being out in the world free. It wasn’t until October of 2013 when the sample of DNA that was taken had a match. When Carlson was arrested, a second sample was to be tested to validate the first sample. According to the Indiana state forensic laboratory “in the absence of an identical twin, Roger E. Carlson is the source of the DNA profiles to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.”

When crimes are committed there leaves …show more content…

Those states that allow law enforcement officials to obtain samples provide for a way to have samples removed if the charges are dropped. Most states require a person to request they be removed but nine states automatically remove samples incase of no conviction.

The pros of collecting DNA samples are boiled down to a few main points, while there are many reasons why collecting it at the time of arrest would be considered a bad idea. One reason why it is a bad idea is privacy. Citizens are concerned that taking samples of their DNA invades their privacy, and that DNA should only be gathered through proper procedures, which include obtaining a warrant. Supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor felt the same way stating "You are going to have to tell me why searching their person is different than searching their home or car".

Another issue is the storage of samples and those who have access. In today’s world everything that is stored in databases has the potential to be accessed by unauthorized users, “some people worry that collecting DNA creates the potential for abuse of genetic information stored in …show more content…

In my opinion through the evidence shown throughout the years DNA sampling should be collected on the first offence. Privacy and the right to your own body are important, but the right to feel safe from your attacker is also important. Collecting DNA samples would reduce the crime rate, free those who have been wrongly convicted, and finally give justice to those attacked by putting those criminals behind

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For example, King states that intrusions into the body go beyond what is protected by the Fourth Amendment, as DNA analysis can reveal one's medical history, age, ethnicity, intelligence, and "propensity for violence and addiction". One is able to comprehend that King believed that his privacy interests outweighed the government's interests, as DNA tests can reveal private information that is not necessary to identify an individual and their prior crimes. Moreover, King considers the state's interest in decreasing crime rates, but argues that the government may only collect and analyze DNA of arrestees if they are convicted and if the collection would assist law enforcement in connecting the arrestee to the crime they were arrested for. The reader is able to identify that King states these two circumstances in order to implicitly convey that his situation is different and that the state has failed to show how DNA collection helps to solve crimes. Therefore, King effectively persuades the court by showing the significance of one's privacy over the interests of the

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