Requires DNA testing of all persons convicted of certain misdemeanors and felonies

19 Co-sponsors

• Dean G. Skelos
• Greg Ball
• John J. Bonacic
• David Carlucci
• John A. DeFrancisco
• Patrick M. Gallivan
• Martin J. Golden
• Joseph A. Griffo
• Jeffrey D. Klein
• William J. Larkin Jr.
• Kenneth P. LaValle
• Betty Little
• Jack M. Martins
• Michael F. Nozzolio
• Thomas F. O'Mara
• Michael H. Ranzenhofer
• Patty Ritchie
• James L. Seward
• David J. Valesky

BILL NUMBER:S5560A

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to DNA testing of certain offenders convicted of a crime

Purpose

To require that every person convicted of a felony as defined in any chapter of the laws of the state or a misdemeanor as defined in the Penal Law must provide a DNA sample.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would amend Executive Law § 995(7) to require that every individual convicted of a felony as defined in any chapter of the laws of the state or a misdemeanor as defined in the Penal Law must provide a DNA sample.

Section 2 of the bill would amend Executive Law § 995-C to designate who shall collect the sample with respect to those designated offenders sentenced to terms of imprisonment, terms of probation, or a designated offender whose sentence does not include either a term of imprisonment or a term of probation.

Section 3 of the bill - effective date.

Justification

In 2010, Curtis Tucker was arrested and arraigned on the 2004 attempted murder and attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl in her Harlem apartment building. Tucker choked his young victim to unconsciousness several times and violently seized her money and student Metrocard. The victim fought back, falling with her assailant down three flights of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, he attempted to rape her. Finally, he ran away, leaving her with permanent injuries to her face. Tucker subsequently was convicted of two misdemeanor crimes, and, more recently of felony burglary against a 74-year-old man who was afflicted with Parkinson's disease. Until the burglary conviction, none of Tucker's prior criminal convictions were eligible for DNA collection upon conviction. If DNA was required upon conviction for all crimes, law enforcement would have solved the 2004 rape much earlier and potentially prevented the 2010 burglary of an elderly man.

In 2006, New York recognized the importance of DNA as a crime fighting tool by adding all remaining felonies, some attempted felonies and 18 misdemeanors to the list of qualifying offenses for the DNA Index. The result: hits resulting from samples taken on those expanded offenses led to 1,595 convictions in the three years immediately following the expansion. This dramatic success illustrate the value of taking DNA from people associated with low-level and non-violent offenses; of the new qualifying offenses, very few were violent or sexual in nature; they included such crimes as bribery of a public servant, possession of a forged instrument, and falsification of business records. Yet, despite the fact that DNA is a proven tool that solves cold cases and

can prevent crime, only 46% of Penal Law crimes are eligible for DNA collection.

The language in this bill mirrors the 2012-2013 FY Executive Budget proposal by Governor Andrew Cuomo which set forth an all-crimes DNA databank. The all-crimes databank would be the first of its kind in the nation and would include all felonies and Penal Law misdemeanors.

Legislative history

2011 - S.5560 passed Senate

Fiscal implications

Governor Cuomo's Executive Budget, estimates that the enactment of this bill is expected to cost approximately $700,000 in 2012-13, with a full annual cost of $1.4 million. This amount includes the cost of additional personnel in the Division of Criminal Justice Services and of DNA test kits and State Police forensic laboratory consumables.

Effective date

This act shall take effect October 1, 2012.