This
is a big overreach by US law enforcement. Collecting an arrestee's DNA
to confirm his or her identity makes sense. So does comparing it to a
limited set of cold cases if there is evidence linking the arrestee to
those crimes. But comparing it to a set of all DNA from all cold cases
is a violation of the 4th Amendment if I ever saw one. Isn't that the
point? Isn't that why we have a pejorative term called "fishing
expedition"? What makes this scary is that you might look similar to a
suspect, get picked up for questioning even when you have done nothing,
and then your DNA gets taken, submitted to the database, and then linked
to a crime from 20 years ago. And you might not even have done THAT
crime either, your DNA might have coicidentally been in the room where
the crime happened. A bank ATM where a hold up occurred, a hotel room
where a rape occurred. And then you get dragged through the mud again -
Your name tarnished for nothing. Your reputation possibly ruined
forever because people will always wonder. This is just WRONG!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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