DNA could be collected for violent felonies in Georgia prior to trial, under Senate Bill

Current Georgia law only allows for DNA swabs of those who have been convicted of felonies.

According to the Innocence Project, an organization focused on exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals, 375 people have been exonerated using DNA between 1989 and 2020. Williams sought to assure lawmakers that DNA would be used with caution.

“DNA is a powerful tool, but it is not enough to convict someone. Usually the DNA can be used to prove guilt or innocence but it is often used with a combination of other information and facts,” he said.

He highlighted the role DNA played in a case in Camden County, where Dennis Perry spent 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit — the murder of a couple, Harold and Thelma Swain, at Rising Daughter Baptist Church. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution chronicled the case in an investigation.

Those found not guilty would have their DNA swab purged, under the bill.

The bill passed 44-11, with six Republicans and five Democrats voting against the measure.

Sen. Randal Mangham, D-Stone Mountain, said requiring people accused of felonies to give up their DNA contradicts the principle that all are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

In a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case, justices ruled 5-4 that taking a DNA swab from someone accused but not yet convicted of a violent felony is constitutional, said Republican Sen. Bo Hatchett.

Another bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Timothy Bearden, is similar to SB 29, but it would require collection of DNA from immigrants being held on detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, had been concerned about Bearden’s bill because she said it would violate their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.