Governor Cuomo wants to expand the state's DNA databank to include all those convicted of criminal misdemeanors and felonies. He has a lot of supporters in Western New York's law enforcement community.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita welcomed more than a dozen police leaders and other advocates into his office for a news conference during which they urged state lawmakers to pass the governor's proposal. The Senate has already passed the legislation. It's now in the Assembly.
The DNA databank, first created in 1996, has been expanded previously and, as supporters say, has resulted in convictions in long-unsolved cases. The reason? The DNA they were looking for was available when the suspects were convicted for other crimes.
"When it was expanded to include petty larceny, that's minor theft, included there were 51 homicides, and 221 sexual assaults," said Elizabeth Glazer, New York STate's Deputy Secretary For Public Safety. "And when it was expanded to take DNA from people who had committed criminal trespassing, we solved another 334 crimes, 30 homicides and 110 sexual assaults among them."
Other speakers, including District Attorney Sedita, noted how DNA has helped them solves crimes while, in one high-profile case, clear the name of a wrongly convicted individual.
"If you require, ladies and gentlemen, a concrete reminder of this, think of how Bike Path Rapist Altemio Sanchez was able to roam free for many years while Anthony Capozzi languished in jail, convicted for crimes he did not commit," Sedita said.
Sedita noted that Sanchez was twice convicted of trying to solicit a prostitute in the 1990s. Had he been required to submit his DNA back then, they would have been able to solve his crimes sooner and, according to Sedita, even prevented one of his murders.
"Because Mr. Sanchez would have been in state prison, he would not have had the opportunity to murder Joan Diver," Sedita said, referring to Sanchez's third murder victim.
The expanded DNA databank would not cover those convicted of traffic offenses or minor disorderly conduct cases.
