Ga. bill looks to expand DNA sampling for suspects

News 12 First at Five/ March 10, 2014

AUGUSTA, Ga.--The state of Georgia could soon start collecting DNA from accused felons before they're ever convicted of any crime. It's part of Senate Bill 135. The DNA would go into the statewide database in hopes of solving more crimes and exonerating people serving time for crimes they didn't commit.

Some worry the law violates civil liberties, but others think the pros outweigh the cons.

Judy Carpenter clutches a handmade autobiography in a 3 ring binder. The story hasn't won any awards, but it's one of the most important possessions Carpenter has. Her daughter wrote it for a school assignment a couple of years before she died.

"She said I plan on doing a lot in the future," Carpenter reads, "I want to become a pediatrician. I love kids and I want to work with them and help them."

Those words were written by Jessica Carpenter about her own future, but she never got the chance to live those dreams. She was raped and murdered 14 years ago in her Crosland Park home. For two years, investigators searched for clues. They interviewed more than 100 people to find the 17 year olds killer.

Carpenter says, "Not knowing who did it. Just going out and looking around and basically accusing every male."

It wasn't until her killer, Robert Atkins, violated his parole for something totally unrelated, and found himself back in prison, that the investigation took a turn. Georgia law changed since Atkins was last in prison. Now, the state was able to collect his DNA for the database, and there was a match. He was convicted for Jessica's murder, and he's now serving a life sentence.

"With those two years not knowing, it hanging over your head, it was a big closure for me," Carpenter says. That's why she thinks expanding the DNA database is so important.

"If it wasn't for DNA we'd still be looking. 14 years with no closure," she said.

Read more here:
Ga. bill looks to expand DNA sampling for suspects