Chenango DA advocates for All-Crime DNA Bill
CHENANGO COUNTY – With the legislative session drawing to a close, members of the criminal justice system are advocating for the passage of a bill they say will make it easier to solve crimes.
Introduced in the senate by Senator Stephen M. Saland, who represents New York’s 41st Senate District, the All Crimes DNA bill would require anyone convicted of a crime to provide a DNA sample. Currently, only those convicted of certain crimes are required to do so. According to advocates, those constraints limit law enforcement’s ability to use DNA evidence to solve crimes, as well as exonerate those who have been wrongly convicted.
Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride is one of those advocating for passage of the legislation, which was approved by the Senate on June 16 and now awaits Assembly approval.
“From a public safety perspective, there is no logical reason we shouldn’t do this immediately and no good reason it hasn’t been done before,” McBride said.
The prosecutor cited a DCJS Study of the DNA Databank, which showed 2,485 crimes could have been solved more than five years sooner if this legislation had already been enacted.
According to McBride, the value of DNA evidence cannot be overstated. As an example, he pointed to a 2009 case in Chenango County. In June of that year, the manager of a Bainbridge convenience store reported that a donation can containing approximately $50 was missing. The man responsible for the crime was identified as Joey Bethea. When Bethea was arrested it was discovered that he owed a DNA sample for a previous petit larceny conviction. That sample linked him to 20-year old unsolved rape and murder of a young Haitian woman in Nassau County for which now, thanks to DNA evidence, he is now serving 25 years to life.
“The collection of that very important evidence made our own community a safer place,” he said.
Chenango County Sheriff Ernest Cutting also registered his support of the bill. While he said the change would require more work for law enforcement in collecting the samples, it would “greatly aid” in solving crimes.
“DNA Evidence is an extraordinary crime fighting tool,” he said. “So far, there have been more than 11,000 hits against unsolved crimes in the state DNA Databank, solving thousands of rapes, murders, robberies and burglaries.”
Cutting referenced another case in Chenango County, where a Sherburne woman was sexually accosted in a home invasion. According to the sheriff, one of the perpetrators of the crime, Stephen Ohl, had been required to submit a DNA sample for a prior conviction.
“He was not a suspect in the crime nor did we have any information in regards to Stephen Ohl being involved in the crime,” Cutting said, but when physical evidence from the home invasion was submitted, they received a hit with Ohl’s DNA. He was subsequently arrested, convicted of the crime and is now serving a 25 year sentence.
“If not for DNA this crime may not yet be solved,” Cutting said.
McBride maintains that mandating DNA samples is not “overly intrusive” nor an invasion of privacy.
“Just as we have the right to take someone’s fingerprint at the time of an alleged crime, we should also have the opportunity to take DNA,” the district attorney said. “It’s the ultimate fingerprint.”
Introduced in the senate by Senator Stephen M. Saland, who represents New York’s 41st Senate District, the All Crimes DNA bill would require anyone convicted of a crime to provide a DNA sample. Currently, only those convicted of certain crimes are required to do so. According to advocates, those constraints limit law enforcement’s ability to use DNA evidence to solve crimes, as well as exonerate those who have been wrongly convicted.
Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride is one of those advocating for passage of the legislation, which was approved by the Senate on June 16 and now awaits Assembly approval.
“From a public safety perspective, there is no logical reason we shouldn’t do this immediately and no good reason it hasn’t been done before,” McBride said.
The prosecutor cited a DCJS Study of the DNA Databank, which showed 2,485 crimes could have been solved more than five years sooner if this legislation had already been enacted.
According to McBride, the value of DNA evidence cannot be overstated. As an example, he pointed to a 2009 case in Chenango County. In June of that year, the manager of a Bainbridge convenience store reported that a donation can containing approximately $50 was missing. The man responsible for the crime was identified as Joey Bethea. When Bethea was arrested it was discovered that he owed a DNA sample for a previous petit larceny conviction. That sample linked him to 20-year old unsolved rape and murder of a young Haitian woman in Nassau County for which now, thanks to DNA evidence, he is now serving 25 years to life.
“The collection of that very important evidence made our own community a safer place,” he said.
Chenango County Sheriff Ernest Cutting also registered his support of the bill. While he said the change would require more work for law enforcement in collecting the samples, it would “greatly aid” in solving crimes.
“DNA Evidence is an extraordinary crime fighting tool,” he said. “So far, there have been more than 11,000 hits against unsolved crimes in the state DNA Databank, solving thousands of rapes, murders, robberies and burglaries.”
Cutting referenced another case in Chenango County, where a Sherburne woman was sexually accosted in a home invasion. According to the sheriff, one of the perpetrators of the crime, Stephen Ohl, had been required to submit a DNA sample for a prior conviction.
“He was not a suspect in the crime nor did we have any information in regards to Stephen Ohl being involved in the crime,” Cutting said, but when physical evidence from the home invasion was submitted, they received a hit with Ohl’s DNA. He was subsequently arrested, convicted of the crime and is now serving a 25 year sentence.
“If not for DNA this crime may not yet be solved,” Cutting said.
McBride maintains that mandating DNA samples is not “overly intrusive” nor an invasion of privacy.
“Just as we have the right to take someone’s fingerprint at the time of an alleged crime, we should also have the opportunity to take DNA,” the district attorney said. “It’s the ultimate fingerprint.”
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