COLUMBIA - Whether the charge is shoplifting or murder, anyone arrested and taken to jail in South Carolina would be required to open wide for a DNA sample under legislation proposed by state lawmakers.
If passed, the law would make South Carolina's DNA collection program the most aggressive in the nation, said David Lazer, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and project co-coordinator of DNA and the Criminal Justice System.
Like most states, South Carolina requires all convicted felons to provide a DNA sample. Some states, including Virginia, California, and Texas, already allow sampling of people arrested before they are convicted, but only for certain offenses.
Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, said he'd agree with those who call for limited swabbing, "if rapists only committed rape crimes and murderers only committed murder. But rapists commit other crimes also, and that's where you catch them."
Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union argue that the proposal is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy and that police have the right to get a DNA sample only if it is part of a crime scene.
"Innocent people don't belong in a criminal database," said Charlie Mitchell, a state legislative counsel for the ACLU in Washington.
Lawmakers sponsoring the bill say the law would help catch criminals by getting repeat offenders off the street faster and verify whether a person is innocent.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell contends that swabbing a suspect's mouth for DNA is no more invasive than taking a person's fingerprints.
"Too often victims get put on the back seat. Repeat offenders are out there creating more victims. What about their rights?" asked Mr. McConnell, R-Charleston.
