ACLU Sues Over Mass. DNA Sample, Worries About Secret Database
The ACLU of Massachusetts has filed suit to force authorities there to discard a DNA sample voluntarily provided in a high-profile rape-murder.
Although those who voluntarily provided samples allegedly were told that the DNA would be discarded if it wasn’t a match with the suspect’s, state police apparently have kept at least one sample on file, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. But an official says he did indeed arrange for the DNA samples to be destroyed as promised, reports the Boston Globe.
“There’s no authority for maintaining these rule-out samples,” says the ACLU’s legal director, John Reinstein. “The people consented [to give the samples] because it was going to be used in that particular case. They didn’t consent for it to be kept in the permanent files of the State Police.”
Says Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe: “This is an individual who wants an additional 15 minutes of fame, and apparently the ACLU is willing to be complicit.”
From what the article says, it appears the ACLU is concerned that not following a strict protocol for discarding such DNA samples promptly could result in what Reinstein terms a “shadow DNA database” being maintained.
