April 7, 2009 marks a new triumph for The Morgan Nick Foundation. MNF Executive Director Colleen Nick has been instrumental in bringing Julie’s Law into Arkansas, which requires the collection of a DNA sample from those who are arrested or charged with capital murder, first-degree murder, kidnapping or first- and second-degree sexual assault.
Until the Senate passed HB 1473 on April 7, Arkansas only required a DNA sample to be taken after a person was convicted of a felony.
According to the Arkansas News Bureau, this bill was named after Juli Busken, a 21-year-old who was killed in 1996 while attending the University of Oklahoma. Busken’s killer was apprehended eight years later when his DNA was taken from an additional crime scene and matched the DNA left behind when Juli was murdered. Arkansas Representative Dawn Creekmore says that if DNA had linked her killer to crimes he committed before 1996, Busken would likely be alive today.
Through this new law, the DNA samples that will be taken upon arrest will be used to solve crimes quicker with lower manpower costs. Here are several ways Julie’s Law will benefit Arkansas:
1.) Since 70% of felony crimes are committed by just 6% of the criminal population, the faster we can identify those 6%, the more quickly crime will ultimately be reduced.
2.) The sooner we can identify those responsible, the sooner we can get them behind bars where they can no longer prey on the innocent.
3.) Also, in an interview with THV, the crime lab stated that from DNA samples taken from convicted felons, in just 1 month, 30 of those profiles matched unsolved crimes in Arkansas.
4.) The United Kingdom has collected DNA for all arrests since 1995. They report that when a new DNA is entered into the database, an immediate match is made on 46.5% of those cases.
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