Post by taylor on Apr 5, 2008 7:43:10 GMT -4
Legislature passes DNA bill inspired by murdered hiker case
By BEN SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/04/08
The Georgia General Assembly passed legislation to make it easier for prosecutors to compare DNA samples from cold cases with other criminal investigations.
The bill, which was requested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was inspired by the case of Meredith Emerson.
RELATED LINKS:
• More about this year's Legislature
Emerson is the 24-year-old hiker who was kidnapped in north Georgia on New Years Day and later killed by a drifter, Gary Michael Hilton.
Under current Georgia law, the GBI was barred from releasing DNA evidence in the Hilton case to law enforcement agencies in other states. The statute only allows for the release of DNA evidence once a suspect is convicted.
Hilton was sentenced to life in prison for the killing and was indicted in February in the slaying of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, whose body was found decapitated in a North Florida forest.
Senate Bill 430 would allow prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to use DNA evidence, including samples collected from suspects who are arrested but never convicted of a crime. The House gave final passage to the bill in a 103 to 50.
Opponents of the legislation argued that the bill, if enacted into law, would give criminal investigators and civil attorneys unrestricted access to DNA evidence from misdemeanor offenders, such as shoplifters and reckless drivers.
www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/04/04/dna_0405.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13
By BEN SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/04/08
The Georgia General Assembly passed legislation to make it easier for prosecutors to compare DNA samples from cold cases with other criminal investigations.
The bill, which was requested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was inspired by the case of Meredith Emerson.
RELATED LINKS:
• More about this year's Legislature
Emerson is the 24-year-old hiker who was kidnapped in north Georgia on New Years Day and later killed by a drifter, Gary Michael Hilton.
Under current Georgia law, the GBI was barred from releasing DNA evidence in the Hilton case to law enforcement agencies in other states. The statute only allows for the release of DNA evidence once a suspect is convicted.
Hilton was sentenced to life in prison for the killing and was indicted in February in the slaying of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, whose body was found decapitated in a North Florida forest.
Senate Bill 430 would allow prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to use DNA evidence, including samples collected from suspects who are arrested but never convicted of a crime. The House gave final passage to the bill in a 103 to 50.
Opponents of the legislation argued that the bill, if enacted into law, would give criminal investigators and civil attorneys unrestricted access to DNA evidence from misdemeanor offenders, such as shoplifters and reckless drivers.
www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/04/04/dna_0405.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13
