Corrections officials say they have reduced number of inmates who … – Omaha World-Herald

Nebraska prison officials say the number of inmates refusing to provide DNA samples has dropped to just 13 as the State Corrections Department works to remedy missteps 20 years in the making.

After a World-Herald investigation in April, department officials said 78 inmates had refused to comply with a 20-year-old state law requiring all convicted felons to submit their DNA into a database that can help clear unsolved crimes.

The inmates refusal to submit DNA samples not only defied state law and a judges orders, it potentially delayed justice for victims of unsolved crimes. Such DNA samples go into a database that can link prisoners to unsolved crimes across the country.

Six weeks after the newspapers report, the state has gone from 78 to 13 inmates who have refused to provide their DNA, Nebraska Corrections Director Scott Frakes said in a press release Thursday.

I am committed to collecting DNA samples from every incarcerated person and believe the course we have charted will result in full compliance with state statute, Frakes said. In those cases where additional steps are necessary, we will take them.

Frakes outlined a new system, implemented May 12, in which Corrections officials now attempt to collect the inmates DNA within two days of their arrival in prison.

Previously the state had provided an inmate with a form in which he could check a box allowing him to opt out of providing a DNA sample.

Now if an inmate refuses, Corrections officials impose disciplinary sanctions, such as stripping him of telephone and canteen privileges or even time off for good behavior.

The last step in the process: Frakes said state officials will go to court to reinforce orders to collect DNA on the refusing inmates. The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office already has done so in four cases, including the cases of two Omaha killers who refused to provide DNA.

Faced with the renewed orders, three of four Omaha holdouts recently submitted their DNA. DNA from the fourth was obtained by force, which typically involves prison guards holding the inmate while a cotton swab is swiped inside his mouth.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine applauded the efforts. Kleine and his chief deputy, Brenda Beadle, had urged Corrections to collect the DNA by force, if necessary.

Corrections officials previously had believed they werent allowed to use force to collect DNA, citing a 1997 Nebraska Attorney Generals opinion that said state law didnt allow the use of force.

However, Kleine pointed out that a month after that 1997 attorney generals opinion, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the states use of force in collecting a serial rapists blood.

Were very pleased that theyre getting done what needed to be done, Kleine said.

One of the ways the state is doing it: The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office filed a motion to enforce order on a case involving convicted killers Derrick Stricklin and Terrell Newman. In it, Corey OBrien a lawyer in Nebraska Attorney General Doug Petersons office noted that prison workers notified Stricklin and Newman of their requirement to submit DNA when they arrived in 2014 and again on May 11 of this year. Each time, the men refused.

Presented with the motion, the judge in their case, Shelly Stratman, minced no words.

The defendant has chosen to defy the law and the order of the court, Stratman wrote. Notwithstanding the defendants refusal to submit a DNA sample, he is still required to do so.

She then authorized Corrections to use such force as is reasonably necessary to obtain or collect a DNA sample.

Kleine said he still doesnt believe that the state needs to seek a further court order to obtain the DNA. Judges typically order DNA collection as part of their sentencing orders.

Honestly, I think that was an unnecessary step, Kleine said. Nonetheless, we support whatever efforts it takes to get this done.

We wish it could have been done quicker, but were glad its happening. Its been our goal all along.

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Corrections officials say they have reduced number of inmates who ... - Omaha World-Herald