say ahhh

After her article that includes last year's progress in JonBenet's case, Diane Dimond has been taking poll on consumer responsiveness to voluntary DNA collection--

DNA Database Explosion, or A Li'l Swab Will Do Ya
By Diane Dimond

"What if a policeman approached and ordered you to open wide for a DNA mouth swab test? Suppose you were pulled over on suspicion of DWI, check fraud or skipping child support payments and suddenly you found yourself on the business end of a Q-tip. Would you submit or refuse and ask for your lawyer?...

As the commercial used to say, "We've come a long way, baby!" One of the latest jaw droppers in the forensic science field is called "touch DNA." It's only been around a few years and it's a process whereby the scientist can return to any item a perpetrator has touched and, likely, lift the smallest skin cells from which DNA can be extracted.

Scientists used the technique recently in Boulder, Colo., when they reviewed evidence in the cold case of little JonBenet Ramsey. Using the "touch DNA" process, they were able to lift microscopic skin cells off the long johns she was wearing the night she was murdered. An "unexplained third party" intruder has now been identified as belonging to that DNA. And this latest genetic material matches other male DNA previously gathered from a single blood drop found in JonBenet's underwear. The hard part, of course, will be to find the person with whom this mysterious DNA matches.

Maybe the fiend that took JonBenet's life will pop up in America's newly expanded DNA database some day. It's a sure bet that other elusive criminals will. Think about it. If we can put away repeat offenders, not only will countless outstanding crimes be solved, it might also spare other citizens from becoming victims...

I have a problem with authority figures ordering me to do something I think is unfair. I worry about government encroachment on my rights. But if I'm not guilty of anything and submitting to such a test would save others from pain or death, why wouldn't I help the police effort? I look at it like giving blood. Give and you could save a life..."