'Juli's Law' Wins House Approval

Legislation that would require more than 30,000 violent criminals to provide a DNA sample for a state database was approved today by the Oklahoma House of Representatives as "Juli's Law," Senate Bill 1102, advanced.

The bill, by Senator Jonathon Nichols and Rep. Randy Terrill, would expand existing law requiring DNA samples to include individuals convicted of certain violent misdemeanor crimes as well as illegal aliens upon arrest for any crime.

“DNA is an important tool that could allow police to identify suspects in numerous cases,” said state Terrill, R-Moore. “Criminals don’t usually confine themselves to one type of crime. By casting a wider DNA net, I believe we will quickly identify individuals who have committed numerous crimes that remain unsolved.”

“DNA evidence was crucial to identifying the killer of OU student Juli Buskin,” said Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing. “By enacting this law, we will be able to solve similar crimes and provide closure to other families like the Buskins.”

DNA evidence led officials to a suspect in the 1996 rape and murder of Jewell “Juli” Buskin, a University of Oklahoma ballet student. Forensic evidence from the crime was linked to a man already incarcerated in Oklahoma on an unrelated charge.

“Justice delayed is justice denied for the families of victims,” Denney said. “While we cannot bring back a loved one, we must do all we can to identify these murderers.”

“Representative Denney feels very passionate about and has been a tireless crusader for this issue and was crucial to gaining final support for it this year,” Terrill said.

Under the bill, anyone convicted of the following violent misdemeanor crimes would have to provide a DNA sample for inclusion in the state database: assault and battery, domestic abuse, stalking, possession of a controlled substance, outraging public decency, resisting arrest, escape or attempting to escape, eluding a police officer, peeping tom, pointing a firearm, unlawful carry of a firearm, illegal transport of a firearm, discharging of a firearm, threatening an act of violence, breaking and entering a dwelling place, destruction of property, negligent homicide, or causing a personal injury accident while driving under the influence.

The bill would also apply to illegal aliens upon arrest for any crime.

The law will add another 32,500 samples to the state DNA database each year, according to estimates.

The bill passed the Oklahoma House today on a 73-18 vote. It now returns to the Senate.

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'Juli's Law' To Expand DNA Clears House

A measure that would greatly expand the state's DNA database and help solve more crimes overwhelmingly cleared the House today.

Senate Bill 2041, by Reps. Randy Terrill, Lee Denney and Skye McNiel, would create "Juli's Law" and require any persons who are arrested for a felony but found guilty of at least a misdemeanor, any persons found guilty of a list of twenty specifically enumerated violent misdemeanors and any convicted sex offenders to submit a DNA sample to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database.

Under current law, any person convicted of a felony must submit a DNA sample.

"By expanding our local and state DNA databases, we are greatly enhancing law enforcement's ability to solve more cases and convict more criminals," said Terrill, R-Moore. "The fact is most violent criminals commit more than one violent crime. Our forensic science has advanced to the point where we can solve almost all crimes; the problem is that we don't have enough DNA samples to compare to forensic evidence found at the scene of the crime. This bill will help bridge that gap."

The bill is named for Juli Busken, the University of Oklahoma ballet student who was murdered in 1996 in Norman. Busken's murder was finally solved through a cold hit on the DNA database in July 2004 when an illegal alien named Anthony Sanchez was arrested on unrelated charges in Cleveland County. Sanchez was convicted of first degree murder, rape and sodomy and sentenced to death.

The measure also requires convicted persons to pay a fee of $150 to OSBI for the testing and storage of the DNA sample.

"This measure builds on the commitment Republicans made to our citizens to make our state a safer and better place to live, work, raise a family and retire," said Denney, R-Cushing. "This bill is good news for citizens and bad news for criminals. Recidivism among violent criminals is almost a given, and by expanding our DNA database, we are ensuring that at some point these criminals will be caught and convicted."

CODIS is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's national DNA database, which allows local, state and federal crime labs to exchange and compare DNA profiles by electronic means to solve crimes across jurisdictional and state lines. OSBI is responsible for maintaining the Oklahoma CODIS database.

Since CODIS was created in 1990, more than 4 million forensic and convicted offender profiles have been entered into the system. Through January 2007, according to the FBI's CODIS Web site, there were nearly 45,000 cases in 49 states and two federal laboratories where CODIS added value to the investigative process.

Approximately 170 public law enforcement laboratories are linked through the CODIS network across the United States. Internationally, more than 40 law enforcement laboratories in over 25 countries use the CODIS software for their own database initiatives.

"The ultimate measure of a law enforcement program's success is whether it is making our citizens and their property safer," said McNiel, R-Bristow. "CODIS has taken violent criminals and sex offenders off the street, and is now even being used to solve property crimes and identify missing persons. The DNA database works, and our citizens deserves to know that their elected officials are taking advantage of every opportunity to protect them from crime."

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