MEMPHIS – Tennessee law enforcement officials are using DNA evidence to indict unknown suspects as a way to stop the clock on statute of limitations, but some critics say the approach needs more legal scrutiny.
In Memphis, prosecutors are filing indictments that identify the defendant not by a name but by a unique DNA genetic profile, in the hopes that police will eventually find the suspect through a database. In a recent rape case filed in Shelby County, the John Doe DNA profile was gleaned from bodily fluids collected from the crime scene, The Commercial Appeal reported.
“There are a lot of them in the works that will be submitted to the grand jury,” said Jennifer Nichols, head of the District Attorney’s Office Special Victims Unit, who said using DNA as an identifier requires attention to detail. “It’s a lot of numbers and letters. I checked and rechecked to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
“That helps us tremendously,” said District Attorney General Amy Weirich, “so we don’t run into any problems of the case being dead on the vine before we can even prosecute somebody.”
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals recently upheld the practice used in the case of Robert Jason Burdick, who was accused of raping more than a dozen women dating to 1994 in Davidson and Williamson counties, The Tennessean reported.