Tagged: hudson valley

A bill currently making its way through the legislature would require more people convicted of crimes to submit samples of their DNA to the state's DNA databank.

That means the cutting-edge forensic science could be used to solve more crimes.

The bill passed the State Senate in January, and Governor Cuomo has called on the Assembly to do the same. Even celebrities, like Law & Order SVU's Mariska Hargitay have voiced support for the legislation.

But people who work in the criminal justice system say TV crime dramas are increasingly influencing juries, and giving people the wrong ideas about how forensic science actually works.

Why is there such a big fuss over fracking?

According to Karen Moreau, who heads the New York State Petroleum Council, environmentalists have stirred up the controversy as a fundraising tool.

“It’s part of a movement to enrich the environmental groups,” she says, “Because through hysteria, and creating an environment of fear, it certainly does cause people to support the mission of some of these groups.”

Environmentalists, obviously, disagree with that assertion.

Three men who were wrongfully convicted of murder were in Albany Monday, pushing for changes to a bill that would expand New York's DNA databank.

Steven Barnes, Fernando Burmudez and Frank Sterling each spent close to 20 years in prison for murders they did not commit.

The men were joined by representatives from the Innocence Project and the New York State Bar Association. The group wants measures added to the bill that would protect the wrongfully accused.