DNA project reaches 25 states

The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences has used DNA collected from Alabama convicts to identify suspects in 1,125 unsolved cases, building a record of success that has drawn national attention.

Through a database of DNA, where a person's genetic information is stored to be compared to samples from other crimes, investigators have identified suspects in robberies, burglaries, rapes and murders in Alabama and 25 other states, as far away as Maine, Alaska, Minnesota and Montana.

A big milestone, the 1,000th hit, came in September when a serial burglar with an unfortunate knack for cutting himself during crimes was linked to 18 unsolved burglaries in south Alabama by blood left at each scene.

But it was his conviction on another crime - breaking and entering a vehicle - that cracked the burglary cases. His DNA sample was taken as he entered a prison in 2005. Department of Forensic Sciences technicians made the connection in September as they chipped away at a backlog of samples entered into its databases.

CBS' "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl recently interviewed Angelo Della Manna, the state's chief of forensic biology and DNA, for a segment to be aired later this month or in early March. Della Manna said the story focuses on the future of DNA testing and the expansion of DNA sampling from not just convicts but from people who have been arrested.

"Per capita, we are one of the most successful DNA programs in the country and they wanted Alabama's thoughts on these issues," Della Manna said. "I think that's because we have a balance - we test our offenders as quickly as we can and we prioritize unsolved cases as well, especially rapes and homicides."

In the early 1990s, DNA revolutionized forensics, and lawmakers agreed DNA information should be shared across state lines. Laws were passed allowing creation of a national DNA database so states could compare genetic profiles.

Mandatory:

Alabama got aggressive with its collection of samples. Lawmakers made it mandatory to sample all felons, even for lesser offenses such as driving under the influence. Later, they expanded it to include juvenile sex offenders and those convicted of misdemeanors that show a predisposition to sexual assault such as stalking, peeping and lewd and lascivious behavior.

Through grant money from the National Institute of Justice, Della Manna in 2002 paid for equipment and staffing to profile all of those samples. By 2003 there was still a backlog of 65,000 samples from convicted offenders. He applied for more NIJ grant money to erase the backlog, promising to use the federal funds to turn it around with all of those samples entered into the national database by the end of 2006.

The Department of Forensic Sciences gets 1,200 to 1,500 offender samples a month from the state's 13 correction facilities and more than 50 probation and parole officers.

The backlog is now essentially eliminated.

"We are up to date with offender samples," Della Manna said. "On the casework side, we've decreased the backlog of casework to its lowest levels in 15 years.

"That means if someone is raped, it used to be nine months to a year before that case got looked at because of the amount of cases we had," he said. "Now those cases get high priority and get worked right away, with the results reported within three to six months. From a year to two years, three to six months is a great leap."

Alabama now has more than 140,000 DNA profiles in the FBI National DNA Database that are searched against all the unsolved casework around the country. There are 4,023,644 profiles in that database. As the collection grows, so do the matches.

In October 2006, scientists linked three unsolved Birmingham rape cases from 1990 and 1992 to a current rape investigation from the summer. But it didn't stop there. The DNA also hit on seven rapes in Georgia in 1994 and 1995.

They matched the DNA to a 42-year-old man who is in federal prison on an unrelated charge.

Anyone arrested:

DNA has undoubtedly changed crime-fighting and crime-solving, and authorities now are looking to take it a step further. A little-noticed amendment to a January 2006 renewal of the Violence Against Women Act allows DNA collecting from anyone arrested by federal authorities, and also from illegal immigrants detained by federal agents, which means the addition of more than a million profiles a year just from federal authorities.

A handful of states already have expanded their laws to collect samples at the point of arrest, with Alabama considering the proposal.

"It's controversial because everyone has agreed in the past when you are convicted in a court of law, you forfeit a certain right to privacy and that's why you give your fingerprints, DNA and so on," said Della Manna, who is also a member of the FBI's DNA advisory team.

Arrests, however, don't always stick.

"Does that person have an expectation of privacy to their genetic information in a national database forever?" he said. "That's the question.

"I think it has a purpose in solving unsolved crimes and acting as a deterrent to violent crime in a proper context and in ensuring that people's rights aren't compromised," Della Manna said. "There is a place for it, I think."

But not without painstaking planning, he said.

For example, there are about 200,000 arrests in Alabama each year. "It's a huge jump, potentially, in the number of samples that would need to be worked and funded."

In the meantime, Della Manna and the other state scientists have their hands full with their DNA work, which also includes reviewing hundreds of cold cases submitted by cities across Alabama.

"We are excited to keep doing the people's work," Della Manna said. "We've said it before: If there's DNA evidence there, there is no such thing as an unsolved case."