D.A. Officials Lobby for Bill to Take Inmate DNA
Representatives from the Orange County district attorney’s office testified Tuesday in favor of a proposed law that would allow prison officials to use “reasonable force” to obtain DNA samples from inmates.
The bill, which will come up for a vote by a legislative committee later this month, is backed by law enforcement but opposed by prisoners’ rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union.
A law approved several years ago requires prisoners convicted of certain crimes to provide DNA samples. But many prisoners have refused. Backers said the DNA sample could help connect prisoners to unsolved crimes.
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