"Every state now maintains genetic databases that are matched to genetic samples taken from crime scenes, such as blood traces, in order to facilitate finding the person who has committed the crime. [Catherine] Crier echoed the sentiments of many present when she asked why being in the genetic database would be a problem for an innocent Black man. "If he is not guilty, what is the problem for a man in the database? He has nothing to worry about."
But he does. Multiple levels of bias feed the all-Black and Hispanic databases, and lawsuits such as the Pamela Fish case cited earlier already have verified that DNA evidence is no more immune to fraudulent or incompetent manipulation than is other evidence. Then, too, there is the collective stigmiatization: if only men of color are in the database, only men of color become suspects and only they can be convicted. Databases that exclude white men, the numerical majority group, will miss most criminals.
As the American Criminal Law Review points out, "Optimal effectiveness, however, would require a universal DNA database that contains DNA fingerprint of every citizen, otherwise potential matches would be missed." Although a universal DNA database would be more efficient than one based upon skin color, it is also ethically unacceptable because it would necessitate coercion. The DNA sweeps, from Miami to London to Truro, have met with varying levels of resistance and resentment and so cannot be described as voluntary.
Will the novel DNA fingerprinting technology lead to the imprisonment of more African-American men than have been freed because of it? This technology's benevolent face has been seen most often, but it has another, sinister, visage. This dual nature holds true for almost every application of genetic science to African American health and welfare. Historically, every boon appears to have been accompanied by a stigmatizing threat to health or freedom. For American Blacks, genetics has always been wielded as a two-edged sword."
Chapter 12- Medical Apartheid, Harriet A. Washington
