New law requires early inmate DNA tests

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan prison inmates will have to submit to DNA testing soon after they're locked up rather than waiting until just before they're released under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. Rick Snyder.

The state began collecting inmates' DNA samples in 1994, but inmates currently aren't required to provide a sample until they're released on parole, placed in a halfway house or discharged after serving their full sentences.

A Target 8 report in May revealed many as 6,000 inmates in Michigan's state prisons have refused to provide DNA samples -- pitting police against the prison system.

Supporters say the new law will help police solve cold cases sooner by giving them the ability to match inmates' DNA to unsolved crimes while they're still in prison.

With the change, people imprisoned on or before this past June 1 will have to provide a DNA sample by the end of the year, while those locked up after June 1 will have to provide a sample within 90 days of the start of their prison sentence.

"There may be convicted criminals who are locked up right now who are responsible for other unsolved crimes," Snyder said in release noting that he signed the bill.

Under the new deadline for DNA samples, "detectives will have the ability to locate these people sooner, which will bring relief to victims of violent crimes and their families," he said.