DNA file on felons is poised to pass

Nonviolent crimes would go in database

By Brendan McCarthy, Globe Correspondent, 9/30/2003

Massachusetts is poised to become the 28th state to use an expansive DNA database that includes samples from all convicted felons instead of just the most dangerous, a move some legislators believe opens the door to identifying suspects in unsolved crimes across the state.

House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran yesterday announced his support for the legislation, which is likely to be taken up today in the House's first formal session of the fall. "It will become part of the law enforcement toolbox," Finneran said. He indicated that the bill, which has passed the Senate, would probably receive House approval and be presented to Governor Mitt Romney.

A Romney press aide said yesterday that the governor plans to approve the measure.

"He looks forward to working with the Legislature to ensure that a bill will pass," said spokeswoman Nicole St. Peter. "He believes in this bill."

The state's current DNA database, which was established in 1998, requires samples from people convicted of one or more of 33 violent offenses, such as murder, rape, and kidnapping. The proposed legislation would expand the DNA database to include samples from any convicted felon, enlarging the database of 20,000 samples to nearly 90,000, according to Senator Cheryl A. Jacques, lead sponsor of the bill.

"It's a very good forensic tool that can find people guilty but can also exonerate people," said Jacques, a Needham Democrat. "It is the fingerprint of the future. It's no different than keeping a criminal's fingerprints on record. You can put gloves on to mask your fingerprints, but it is almost impossible to keep your DNA from being found at a crime scene."

To obtain DNA samples, State Police specialists would swab the inside of a convict's mouth. The cost of the database expansion is estimated at $3 million a year, which could be partially paid for with federal funds that are available for the next several years, according to Jacques's office.

John and Magdalen Bish, the parents of slain Warren teenager Molly Bish, have lobbied for passage of Jacques' bill. Their daughter was 16 when she was apparently abducted from her lifeguard post and killed three years ago.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, which opposed the creation of the DNA database in 1998, is against its proposed expansion.

"This bill includes a substantial number of crimes for which the rationale for having DNA doesn't apply," said legal director John Reinstein, referring to white-collar crimes and fraud.

Earlier this year Senator Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. sponsored an unsuccessful measure that would have expanded the database to include samples for an additional 30 crimes, instead of all convictions.

"Stealing poultry, that is the kind of crime that would be [included] under this law," said the Pittsfield Democrat. "I don't believe we should give our government the enormous power to maintain DNA profiles on a large segment of our society. This is not about how we should have a DNA database for rapists and murderers, but whether we should allow the government to have a database of people's personal identifiers."

Brendan McCarthy can be reached at bmccarthy@globe.com