By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
A law passed in 2016 is starting to take affect that collects DNA samples from suspects who are jailed on felony complaints, but Oklahoma could face a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, an ACLU spokesperson confirms.
The DNA samples are processed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation before being downloaded into the FBI’s national criminal database. The DNA can then be matched to other criminal cases before a person has been found guilty.
“If the state is collecting DNA then the state needs to prove why this seizure is legal in the first place, not the individual to prove why it shouldn’t be used,” ACLU Deputy Director Allie Shinn said.
The law sparked controversy because it appears to violate the constitutional rights of due process, that a person is to be treated as innocent in the criminal justice system until proven guilty.
Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said his jail has not started collecting DNA profiles for felony arrestees.
“I’m going to comply with the law,” West said. “We follow state law. To me it’s not any different than State Question 788, which I opposed but passed. When I inquire about all this and talked to my staff a few days ago to see if we’re complying on this, I learned we haven’t had OSBI training on this. There’s 77 counties so it might take them a little bit to get it done.”
West said his office would be supplied with the necessary tool kits and training.
“We just want to do it correctly,” he said. “I don’t see that this will be overly burdensome.”
Kingfisher County Sheriff Dennis Banther said his department had not started collecting DNA because they are waiting on kits and training from OSBI.
“When we started looking into it, we found out OSBI didn’t have the funding for it yet,” Banther said.
OSBI is one of many government agencies whose budgets have been cut short over the last several years. However, Oklahoma Watch reported OSBI received a $740,000 federal grant and Oklahoma and Tulsa County jails are collecting samples. The agency will need $500,000 a year to keep the program moving forward, Oklahoma Watch found.
While the law does allow an accused person to have their DNA profile withdrawn from the database if they are not charged with a felony, Shinn said that’s not enough.
“We have a justice system in this country where the burden of proof is on the state to prove why they’re doing the things they are in the criminal justice system,” Shinn said. “Shifting that burden to the individual is not only violating due process but sets a major precedence for how our system continues to function.”
Shinn said the ACLU is considering a legal challenge to the law.
Supporters of the law, which has been enacted in 30 other states, say it will help solve crimes earlier and save lives.
