Bill Aims To Expand DNA Database To Include Anyone Convicted Of Felony Wednesday January 28, 2004 5:11am Does Exploration of Mars Justify the Cost at NASA?  Yes  No  Undecided ___  ABC News 4 Interact  ___    • Signup for eNews Alerts    • ABC News 4 Pulse Poll    • Whats Your Opinion?    • Printable Version    • E-Mail This Story Columbia (AP) - The House Judiciary Committee has approved a bill that would expand the state's D-N-A database to include anyone convicted of a felony. South Carolina currently requires all those convicted of violent crimes and sex-related crimes to submit D-N-A for storage at the State Law Enforcement Division lab. The bill's sponsor and Marlboro Representative Doug Jennings says D-N-A evidence helps convict the guilty and helps exonerate the innocent. Making the donation of D-N-A samples mandatory for all felons would increase the database by thousands of entries each year and be an added cost. But Jennings says federal funds can help pay for the program. A SLED spokeswoman says the agency supports the all-felons database. » Find More Articles Related To This One Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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