LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—An Arkansas lawmaker wants to expand state law to require DNA-sample collections from suspected criminals, and wants the law to carry the name of a slain ballerina whose killer wasn’t caught for nearly a decade.
Rep. Dawn Creekmore, D-Hensley, filed “Juli’s Law,” on Monday, in honor of Juli Busken, a 21-year-old from Benton who was kidnapped and murdered while she was a student at the University of Oklahoma.
Busken disappeared from her Norman, Okla., apartment complex in 1996 and was later found dead on the shore of Lake Stanley Draper in far southeast Oklahoma City.
It was several years before a DNA profile was made from semen stains found on Busken’s clothing. In 2004, state investigators found a match between that profile and one taken from Anthony Castillo Sanchez when he entered the prison system on a burglary conviction.
Sanchez was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to death.
“A DNA profile was the key to finding her killer,” said Creekmore, who was accompanied by Busken’s parents at a press conference Monday.
Mary Jean and Wilbur Busken said they’re also pushing for a similar measure in Oklahoma, where Sanchez was caught.
The measure also has the support of John Ramsey, the father of slain youngster JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colo.
“Juli’s Law will significantly improve crime solution rates and reduce crime levels as habitual criminals are identified earlier in their criminal activities,” Ramsey said in a statement distributed by Creekmore. “More importantly, it will help prevent future human suffering and loss, the cost of which is immeasurable.”
Creekmore’s bill would require the collection of DNA samples after someone is arrested on certain felony charges, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, sexual assault and rape. Now, DNA is generally collected after charges are filed against a suspect.
Creekmore said Monday that if someone is arrested but not charged with a crime, he or she can request that the DNA sample be destroyed. The measure is expected to cost about $500,000 annually, she said.
The bill, which was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, was cosponsored by 22 representatives.
Other new bills filed Monday include a measure to increase Arkansas’ minimum wage to the federal level. The bill by Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, would immediately increase the state’s minimum wage to $6.55 per hour, up from its current rate of $6.25. The bill would then increase the rate to $7.25 an hour, beginning July 24.
The measure mirrors increases passed by Congress in 2007.
Nickels says his bill would affect a small group Arkansans who aren’t covered by the federal wage level—specifically, companies that employ four or more workers and have less than $500,000 in annual receipts.
Under another bill filed Monday, more scrap-metal dealers would be required to collect information from sellers and the sale of more scrap parts would be prohibited.
Rep. Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, filed a measure to stiffen a 2007 law that was aimed at deterring copper thefts around the state by requiring scrap-metal dealers to record information on large purchases.
Williams’ measure also increases the penalties for sellers accepting stolen metal or for providing false information, which is currently a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 in fines and up to 90 days in prison. The proposed change would make it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to $1,000 in fines and up to a year in prison
The measure also would make stealing utility, telecommunication or essential farm metal a Class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
