DNA CONTROVERSY IN CALIFORNIA; ALLEGED SERIAL KILLER ARRESTED ON BASIS OF FAMILIAL DNA; BLOOMBERG NEWS; OPPONENTS RAISE PRIVACY ISSUES;

"California Attorney General Jerry Brown said the DNAsearch program he implemented two years ago helped catch the man. "We're in the midst of very powerful new technology and legal battles to make sure we can use it," Mr. Brown said.

However, the software is already at the centre of a court battle. Officials in his department are scheduled to appear in court next week to defend the use of the technology in a separate case, he said."

REPORTER CHRISTOPHER PALMERI: BLOOMBERG NEWS;

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"A controversial software program using "family DNA" led police in the U.S. to arrest a man they accuse of being the "Grim Sleeper," a serial killer responsible for murdering at least 10 woman over the past 25 years," the Bloomberg News story by reporter Christopher Palmeri,published earlier today begins, under the heading, "Controversial software puts 'Grim Sleeper' case to rest."

"Lonnie David Franklin Jr., 57, of Los Angeles, is a former L.A. police mechanic and city trash collector who was never a suspect in the case." the story continues.

"But last year his son, Christopher, was convicted of a felony weapons charge. His DNA was taken and put into a database the state runs that searches for familial links. The software does not exist elsewhere.

Investigators then got a "family" hit from DNA left at the scene of some of the murders attributed to the "Grim Sleeper." Police knew Christopher Franklin was too young to be the killer and his father then became a suspect.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said the DNAsearch program he implemented two years ago helped catch the man. "We're in the midst of very powerful new technology and legal battles to make sure we can use it," Mr. Brown said.

However, the software is already at the centre of a court battle. Officials in his department are scheduled to appear in court next week to defend the use of the technology in a separate case, he said.

"We're protecting people's privacy," Mr. Brown said. "We're going to fight to protect this technology."

The Los Angeles Times quoted Police Chief Charlie Beck as saying, "This will change the way policing is done in the United States. This will bring justice to the victims to which it has been denied."

ABC News said privacy and civil liberty advocates have attacked familial databases, in part because they put more minorities at risk because they are disproportionally represented in the database."

The story can be found at:

http://www.nationalpost.com/Controversial+software+puts+Grim+Sleeper+case+rest/3253514/story.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;