Tonight, communities across the state and country will participate in National Night Out – America’s Night Out Against Crime. Under Governor O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland’s violent crime rate dropped to its lowest level since 1975. Public safety is too important to be ignored as Bob Ehrlich did when he was in office. Bob Ehrlich needs to explain the colossal failure of his administration to process and analyze DNA samples, effectively allowing hundreds of violent criminals to remain on the streets.

Ehrlich left office with a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed and 15,000 uncollected DNA samples. After inheriting this mess, Governor O’Malley allocated the necessary resources to eliminate the backlog, leading to case closures and arrests of violent fugitives. In 2009 alone, 103 murderers, rapists, and other criminals who might otherwise be walking the streets were arrested thanks to DNA technology.

The Baltimore Sun recently praised the O’Malley administration’s handling of the DNA backlog:

“Governor O’Malley’s administration has made some important policy shifts in public safety,” including “a renewed focus on closing Maryland’s backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples.”

Bob Ehrlich’s incompetence prevented Maryland from putting hundreds of violent criminals behind bars.  Marylanders deserve to know why the Ehrlich administration failed to process thousands of DNA samples that could have convicted rapists and murderers. Until Ehrlich comes clean on this vital issue, how can Marylanders trust him to put public safety first?