Nila Bala writes about an issue generating more discussion and debate. Could publishing a criminal suspect’s DNA in an open-source database create problems for innocent people? Could there be mistakes? What happens after the suspect — who usually isn’t involved a dramatically serious crime like serial killing, etc., is released from jail?
Bala identifies some of the concerns and then writes, in part:
It isn’t hard to imagine a world where individuals face another collateral cost to being involved in the justice system, one that expungement is unlikely to ever remedy: violations of their genetic privacy. By uploading their DNA data to a public website, where it would be accessible to insurance companies and employers alike, law enforcement might forever compromise the ability of a person to truly re-enter society. Even worse, the privacy rights of family members, including children of those involved in the system, could also be compromised.
Read more on Slate.
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