http://foxnews.com/world/031701/germany_palkot.sml # # Child's Murder in Germany Prompts Debate Over Mandatory DNA Testing # # Saturday, March 17, 2001 By Greg Palkot # # The brutal murder of 12-year-old Ulrike Brandt, who went missing # from her hometown north of Berlin last month, sparked outrage # across Germany when her strangled and sexually abused body was # found by authorities. # # Those who knew here mourned. "It was terrible that this could # happen," one neighbor said. "She was such a nice girl." Funeral # services were held Friday. # # The emotional case sparked a wider debate when some politicians # called for all German men to submit to DNA testing to help find # the girl's killer, and prevent similar crimes in the future. # That call has been rejected by other leading officials, and # brought back for the some the terrible memories of Germany's # Nazi and Communist past, when individual rights were systemat # ically disregarded. # # There is a precedent in post-Cold War Germany for such DNA # testing, in which a saliva samples from those tested are matched # with genetic material found on the victim. In 1998, the killer # of another young German girl was found after more than 16,000 # men underwent DNA testing. # # This new proposal has a much wider potential impact, however, # and could theoretically involve 41 million people. # # Supporters have promised to push their case. "I am ready to go # very far with legislation," Norbert Geis, legal spokesman for # Germany's CDU/CSU opposition coalition told Fox News, "in order # to catch sexual offenders against children." # # Opponents of the plan argue that current German law guards against # perceived invasions of privacy. "It's unconstitutional to take # a fingerprint of someone not proven guilty," remarked Volcker # Beck, Alliance 90/Green party parliament member, "so it is clear # you can't take a genetic fingerprint, either." # # Similar privacy concerns have been raised in the U.S and # elsewhere. Still, DNA testing has had success in America, # particularly at the state level. And Britain is moving to create # a broader national genetic data bank. # # Geis and other supporters of the DNA testing plan for Germany # have since backed off their earlier hardline positions. But more # extensive testing does have popular support. # # "It's no problem for me," one Berlin man noted. And a young German # woman remarked, "It's good, so long as they can find the killer." # # Voluntary DNA testing in Eberswalde, where Ulrike lived, is # already under way.