Michigan's Governor, Jennifer Granholm, signed a law this week requiring anyone arrested of certain crimes to provide DNA samples; the law covers arrests for murder, criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, robbery and other crimes. Previous Michigan laws only required DNA samples after arrested persons were convicted of certain felonies.
With the new law in place, local police departments say the new law will help them solve past crimes.
The downside is that the process can take a few months, depending on the DNA being sampled."We always take finger prints to ID people...and say in a few minutes this is person A or person B, but with DNA it takes a lot longer," Detective Trooper Bob Dunham of the Michigan State Police stated.
Just a few months ago, this law helped deliver a conviction in the 1997 Flint, Michigan murder case of a 14 year old girl, Shayla Rose. DNA evidence in Rose's sock was tied to James Carrodine, recently convicted of felony murder and criminal sexual conduct, according to the Flint Journal.
The new law takes effect January 1, 2009.
