Md. businesswoman is DNA collection advocate

Laura Neuman is one of the high achievers who will be honored tonight by The Daily Record, Exhibit A’s parent, as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women for her entrepreneurship. But her influence on Maryland extends beyond the business world.

When Maryland begins the expansion of its DNA database tomorrow, it will be - at least in part - in response to the urging of victims of violent crime such as Laura Neuman.

Neuman lobbied hard for Maryland to expand DNA collection to include those arrested for a violent crime. She believes that her attacker, who pled guilty to rape in 2002, would have been caught sooner if his DNA had been collected during one of the six times he was arrested before she was attacked. And she testified to that before the state Legislature.

Now, Maryland joins about a dozen other states that collect DNA from people arrested for some felonies. More states will surely follow suit; 21 others are considering similar proposals, and changes are coming at the federal level, too.

Of course, not everyone thinks the expanded database is a good idea (O’Malley and Gansler are supporters). Critics say it violates a suspect’s civil rights, and even some supporters worry about abuse of the information, not to mention the backlog of samples to process.

But Neuman told CNN: “Is it worth the risk to make sure that we get these cases solved and keep people behind bars who should be behind bars? Those who are innocent have nothing to fear.

Do you agree? Does the fact that the sample will be expunged upon release or acquittal make a difference?

Photo courtesy of CNN.

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