DNA Expansion Bill Proposed By Lower Bucks Lawmakers

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Ashley Spence was raped and violently assaulted while attending college in Arizona in 2003. It was not until seven years later that she received a phone call that there was a DNA match in her case.

While attempting to break into a home in California, her attacker was caught and resisted arrest and because that is a felony in California, his DNA was taken during the normal booking process. His DNA was later linked to several rapes across the country.

Spence, founder of the DNA Justice Project, shared her story at a recent press conference in which several Lower Bucks County lawmakers announced bicameral legislation that will expand the collection of DNA samples in Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system.

State Reps. Joe Hogan and KC Tomlinson and Sen. Frank Farry were joined at the press conference in Harrisburg by Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran, an advocate for the technology in law enforcement.

The proposed legislation expands the number of DNA samples in the criminal justice system by requiring post-arrest testing of anyone charged with a felony or certain misdemeanors. This sample-taking would be no different, practically speaking, than the established process of taking an arrestee’s fingerprints.

Nineteen states currently collect post-arrest DNA samples.

The bill would also expand the collection of DNA samples for those offenders convicted of criminal homicide.

Under current Pennsylvania criminal laws, samples are required to be taken from those convicted of felonies and other serious sexual offenses, but criminal homicides are their own classification of crime—they are technically not classified as felonies.

This legislation would close that loophole and require the collection of DNA samples from these offenders to solve other cold case murders and crimes.

“This legislation will provide a critical tool for our criminal justice system to identify and convict frequent criminal offenders including violent predators,” Hogan said. “We will also be closing the homicide loophole so that more cold cases be solved, and families receive the closure they deserve. I want to thank Ashley Spence for standing up here with us today and showing bravery in sharing her story and standing up for victims across Pennsylvania.”

“After hearing Ashley’s story, I couldn’t get on board fast enough” Tomlinson said. “This bill is a key tool to making sure we keep violent offenders off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. This bill will stop repeated offenders in their tracks, it will leave no question of someone’s innocence or guilt, and more importantly, it gives police the support they need to put these violent criminals behind bars.”

“I commend Ashley Spence for her bravery in sharing her story and her continued legislative advocacy for victims across our country,” Farry said. “One of our goals as elected officials is to ensure our communities are safe and Senate Bill 1078 is not only a crucial step in convicting more criminals, it will also stop innocent people from being convicted.”