An Arkansas lawmaker wants to change a law that explains from whom to collect a DNA sample.

Get arrested for a felony and Arkansas could get your DNA even without a conviction.

State Representative Dawn Creekmore is behind the push for this change in Arkansas law.

Representative Creekmore says this move is about her desire, to help police solve violent crimes. While others say the change would violate the constitution.

Mary Jean Buskin cherishes the 21 years she had with her daughter Juli.

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Reprinted courtesy of The Benton Courier

LITTLE ROCK – Convicted sex offenders will face tougher sentences and stricter monitoring under two bills passed by the Legislature in a special session this week.

The bills, sponsored by Rep. Dawn Creekmore, D-East End, received final approval Thursday and await Gov. Mike Huckabee’s signature.

One bill would allow the state to use Global Positioning System devices to track sex offenders. Under the measure, doctors or anyone with the authority to prescribe medicine would be able to consult crime databases to determine if the patient is a sex offender before prescribing a drug for erectile dysfunction.

The legislation also requires sex offenders to re-register with police every six months and to update their personal information. The most violent sex offenders would be tracked by GPS devices for at least 10 years.

Creekmore has introduced two measures modeled after a Florida law passed last year and named to memorialize the death of a 9-year-old girl by a registered sex offender.

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Reprinted courtesy of The Benton Courier

Rep. Dawn Creekmore’s proposal that would expand the state’s ability to track sex offenders was endorsed Monday by a House committee.

The House Judiciary Committee endorsed the Child Protection Act, which allows the state to electronically monitor sex offenders and would include the use of Global Positioning System devices.

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