Coffman's latest TV ad truth tested

9:38 PM, Oct 16, 2012   |    comments
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written by:
Chris Vanderveen

In this instance, we want to take a look at a pro-Mike Coffman ad in the hotly contested 6th Congressional District. The race pits Democrat Joe Miklosi against the Republican incumbent Mike Coffman. 

Katie's Law - Coffman for Congress - 10.15.12

Voiceover: I'm Mike Coffman, and I approve this message.

Voiceover: We cannot replace what sexual predators take. But we can bring them to justice. 

Voiceover: Katie's Law uses DNA technology to find violent criminals sooner. It collects DNA evidence when criminals are booked for any other felony.

Senate Bill 09-241, short-titled "Katie's Law," states that "every adult arrested on or after September 30, 2010, for a felony offense or the investigation of a felony offense" must "submit to collection of a biological substance sample for testing to determine the genetic markers thereof."


Evidence indicates that Katie's Law does indeed help identify violent criminals. Here are some examples:

• New Mexico's Governor Susana "Martinez credits the law with a 92 percent increase in matching suspects to crimes, including five homicides and three sex crimes."

• Ohio's Attorney General Mike DeWine stated, "132 cold case crimes now have a prime suspect through a DNA match made possible only because of (Ohio) Senate Bill 77 requiring DNA collection on all felony arrestees. With seven months of data, we now see how SB 77 is helping us identify more bad guys who just might have gotten away with their crimes had it not been for the new law."

However, the ad's "sooner" claim is debatable, since DNA evidence can only help "find violent criminals sooner" if they're already in the database. As the National Forensic DNA Study Report states, "Given the relatively high rates of recidivism in the U.S., the potential for DNA databases to help solve and prevent crime is substantial. DNA analysis cannot stop the first crime from occurring. But it can provide investigators with the tools they need to identify a suspect and remove the threat to public safety before the same perpetrator can re-offend.
 
Voiceover: 52 Colorado representatives supported Katie's Law. 12 opposed it. Joe Miklosi was one of those twelve.

According to state legislative records, this is true.

On May 6, 2009, Rep. Miklosi was one of 12 representatives to vote against an updated version of Katie's Law. The day earlier, he voted for a different version of the bill (SB 09-241). See the bottom of page 1787. The vote was 56 to 9.

Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Miklosi campaign sent 9NEWS a statement about Miklosi's 2009 vote.

"Joe's vote occurred because he didn't want criminals to be released on a legal technicality," spokesperson Ryan Hobart said. Hobart went on to explain that Rep. Miklosi was worried the law could ultimately prove to be unconstitutional. 

In addition, the Miklosi campaign went on the offensive by criticizing Rep. Coffman for voting against a national version of Katie's Law. 

"Mike Coffman is accusing Joe Miklosi of voting the same way Coffman did in Congress. It is clear the Coffman campaign can't even fact check their own candidate. As Coloradans learn more about Mike Coffman's extreme record, his attacks become more bizarre. Mike Coffman needs to explain his absurd attack," read the statement from Hobart. 
 
A spokesperson for the Coffman campaign told 9NEWS that vote was not necessarily a vote against Katie's Law itself, but more of a vote against federal funding of something that many states had already self funded.

Voiceover: Joe Miklosi sided with predators and their lawyers. And against us.

This is a statement of opinion and cannot be tested, although the claim that Mikolsi "sided with predators" does appear to be a case of political hyperbole.


(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

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