Ohio law-enforcement officials have prime suspects in 132 "cold-case" crimes because of DNA testing permitted under a new state law, Attorney General Mike DeWine said. The samples are usually taken via a mouth swab.

Senate Bill 77, which took effect July 1 last year, requires law-enforcement officers to take DNA samples from adults who are arrested on felony charges -- regardless of whether they are convicted.

DeWine said at a press conference at the Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation at London, Ohio, that DNA collected at a crime scene is often "the piece of evidence that makes the case and lands the criminal in prison, where he or she belongs.

"With seven months of data, we now see how SB 77 is helping us identify more bad guys, who just might have gotten away with their crimes had it not been for the new law."

The DNA samples are processed into the Ohio DNA database, which has 421,584 records from convicted offenders and arrestees.

DeWine said BCI scientists are processing 63 percent more DNA profiles because of the bill. " We hit to an average 127 unsolved crimes per month now, giving law-enforcement agencies around the state and the country the break in their cold case that will hopefully lead to more victims finding justice."

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By Alan Johnson - The Columbus Dispatch (MCT)

(c)2012 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)

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