In 2004, just days before Christmas, we received a phone call that no parent should ever have to receive. Our little girl, Johnia, had been brutally stabbed by a robber in her apartment. Johnia, a graduate student at the University of Tennessee, was alive when law enforcement arrived on the scene. But while we hurried from our home in Georgia to the hospital, our daughter died.
The anguish we went through is beyond words. We grieved while the sheriff’s department interviewed more than 1,000 people and submitted more than 400 DNA samples from suspects. Time continued to pass — and we received no closure. It was not until three years after our daughter’s murder that her killer was caught. He had been convicted on an unrelated crime and his DNA matched the DNA that was found in Johnia’s apartment. While awaiting trial, her killer took his own life.
We knew that her killer could have been brought to justice earlier had he provided his DNA upon his arrest rather than his conviction. Having had that sample earlier would have saved law enforcement precious investigation time and would have limited our three years of knowing that the man who killed our daughter was on the loose and possibly destroying the lives of others.
We turned our grief into action and we began to research what other states were doing around DNA collection — and we began to work for change. In 2007, the Tennessee Legislature passed the Johnia Berry Act — a bill allowing for the collection of DNA (via cheek swab) from felony arrestees at the same time they give their fingerprints and mug shots.
And now, with the help of state Rep. Rob Teilhet (D-Smyrna) and a number of other bipartisan sponsors, we are working to pass the Johnia Berry Act in our state of Georgia.
Some, including columnist Bob Barr, argue against this life-saving legislation, saying that it raises constitutional concerns, that it only “might” help law enforcement, and that Georgia’s database is already sufficient. We could not disagree more.
Twenty-one other states have passed this legislation and it is pending in 15 others. Challenges to the statute have lost and the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the collection of DNA upon felony arrest is, indeed, constitutional.
Empirical data from studies conducted in Chicago, Denver, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and more have soundly proven that this measure will actually prevent crime from happening, ensure that the right person is held accountable (diminishing the effect of bias), free the innocent, and save money in the long run.
Currently, Georgia collects DNA from only those convicted of certain felonies — not all of them. Our GBI crime lab, while run by dedicated individuals, is underfunded and severely lacking when compared to other states. Law enforcement deserves every tool available to them to keep us safe.
We invite critics to sit down with us, as Rep. Teilhet has, hear our story, and then consider whether or not politics is involved in this life-saving bill.
House Bill 1033, the Johnia Berry Act, is essential, life-saving legislation. Every victim of a crime is a person who’s life is permanently changed or ended. And every victim has a mother and a father and other loved ones. We pray that other parents will never have to live through what we have, and that every child has a chance at a full life without crime. We pray that any family who loses a loved one will be able to rely on this legislation to assist with closure and bring the correct perpetrator to justice. The Johnia Berry Act is the beginning to the answer of our prayers.
Michael and Joan Berry, parents of Johnia Berry, live in Lawrenceville.
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