by Paris Kaye

Created on: September 29, 2010

In an effort to circumvent the legislative process, Acting Commissioner Sean M. Byrne of the Division of Criminal Justice Services sent letters to all District Attorney Offices throughout New York State imploring them to add DNA collection to all misdemeanor plea bargains.   

Acting Commissioner Byrne, appointed by Governor Paterson, first suggested requiring DNA as a plea bargain condition at the annual summer meeting of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York in July of this year. He followed this August with a letter to all 62 district attorneys in the state.

“It is obvious that there is broad support in the Legislature for expanding the DNA Databank – as there should be since doing so will save lives and exonerate innocent people,” Acting Commissioner Byrne said. “It is equally obvious the Legislature’s inability to come to terms on a specific bill is jeopardizing the public safety.”

“It is ultimately the role of Legislature to enact a bill to expand the databank and provide New Yorkers with the protection and security they need and deserve, and I respect that role,” Acting Commissioner Byrne said. “Until then, our district attorneys can expand the databank and enhance public safety by simply conditioning every misdemeanor plea bargain on submission of a DNA sample.” (1)

Mr. Byrne does well in stroking us in all the right places, hitting the fear button with mention of jeopardizing public safety and our sense of fairness in exonerating innocent people.  It is obvious that anyone standing in opposition to Mr. Byrne has a complete disregard for public safety and exonerating the innocent.  That may be a valid statement but perhaps not.

Truth be told, it is all well and good to stroke that emotional side of our being but Mr. Byrne falls well short in playing to our intellect.

Last time legislation passed to expand the DNA Databank (2006), DNA collection jumped from 17,140 specimens to 73,811 specimens.  This unprecedented jump in specimen collection resulted in an immense backlog of judicially time-sensitive evidence, and resulting in the use of an outside vendor. (2)

Acting Commissioner Byrne said the “stop gap remedy to Albany gridlock” would help close a “gaping and dangerous loophole” that allows 54 percent of the individuals convicted of Penal Law crimes to avoid providing a DNA sample. (1)

In 2009, 48,287 specimens

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