|
Juli’s Law proposal goes to panel |
|
|
Tuesday, 17 March 2009 |
Bud and Mary Jean Busken of Benton were at the state Capitol in Little Rock today to testify in behalf of state Rep. Dawn Creekmore’s effort to enact an Arkansas law requiring suspects to provide DNA samples at the time of their arrest on most felony charges.
Creekmore’s proposed legislation, titled Juli’s Law, was presented to the House Judiciary Committee this morning.
The law is named for the Buskens’ daughter, Juli, who was abducted in December 1996 from her apartment complex parking lot in Norman, Okla., and shot to death in nearby Oklahoma City.
The tragedy occurred shortly after the 21-year-old woman had completed requirements for her fine arts degree in dance performance at University of Oklahoma and ironically occurred on the day she was planning to return to Benton.
The Buskens previously were present at the Capitol to offer support to Creekmore when she conducted a news conference detailing the components of her bill.
DNA was the key to solving Busken’s murder, but it took eight years to make an arrest. A DNA match was obtained after Anthony Castillo Sanchez was imprisoned following a conviction in an unrelated burglary.
Sanchez was convicted of the murder, but currently is seeking a new trial.
Also testifying in today’s proceeding in the Judiciary Committee was John B. Ramsey, father of Jon Benet Ramsey, the Colorado child whose murder received international attention. Ramsey now lives in Little Rock.
Jon Benet Ramsey’s murder also was solved through DNA evidence, but not until last year, many years later. Her mother, who was considered a suspect at one juncture, already had died by the time this occurred.
“If the bill does OK in the Judiciary Committee today, it will then go to the House floor,” Creekmore said. Providing it receives a successful vote there, it will be assigned to the Senate and then to a Senate committee, she said.
Creekmore said the bill is receiving increased support “once I explain it.”
“When you take away the fear factor, people are understanding why it’s important,” she said.
On the surface, people tend to “be afraid of DNA,” she noted.
If Creekmore’s bill becomes law, among the charges for which DNA would be required are rape, kidnapping, aggravated assault, murder and burglary.
“The reason burglary is included is that law enforcement officials have indicated that most rapists most often start with burglary,” Creekmore said. “This way, their DNA would already be in the database.”
Creekmore said she has received support from the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association and police officers. “The biggest hurdle will be the funding aspect,” she said, noting that it could cost the Crime Lab up to $500,000 a year. Creekmore said she has received “several reports from states that have similar laws and officials there say this is saving money in the long run. It’s getting criminals off the street and also exonerating people who were wrongly accused.”
Mary Jean Busken said she and her husband and other members of their family are “pleased and certainly supportive of Dawn’s bill. We’ll do anything that we can to help to get these guys off the street. We want to save some other Juli’s out there.”
The Buskens also are supporting efforts by Oklahoma lawmakers who have proposed a Juli’s Law in that state. The legislation is similar to Creekmore’s bill.
For the past year, Creekmore has been compiling newspaper articles that refer to individuals being exonerated because of DNA.
“Across the board, it will save the state as much as it would cost or more,” she said.
In Creekmore’s earlier news conference, she read a letter John Ramsey had written in support of her bill. She provided copies at the conference.
In the epistle, Ramsey noted his endorsement of Creekmore’s bill and encouraged legislators to “support this important legislation. DNA fingerprinting for arrestees is being adopted by states across the country as a significant tool to identify criminals as well as to protect the wrongly accused. Implementation of this legislation in Arkansas will put the state in a leadership position among states.”
Ramsey contended that Juli’s Law will “significantly improve crime solution rates and reduce crime levels as habitual criminals are identified earlier in their criminal activities. Crime-processing expenses will be reduced, making this legislation a cost-saving measure as well. Most importantly, it will help prevent future human suffering and loss, the cost of which is immeasurable.”
|
Razorbacks
