American Civil Liberties Union

Born soldiers may say they have "combat in our genes" — but a new report suggests the Pentagon may want to give the phrase whole new meaning by turning DNA into the next military battleground.

The report, prepared by a defense science advisory panel known as JASON and reported by Secrecy News and HuffPost's Dan Froomkin, among others, recommends that the military take advantage of the rapidly falling cost of gene sequencing by preparing to engage in the mass sequencing of the genomes of all military personnel. According to the report, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veteran's Administration (VA)

If prosecutors don’t change course, on November 9th Hank Skinner could be the 476th person executed by the State of Texas since 1976. Problem is, Skinner, like Troy Davis, may well be innocent, and Texas prosecutors have so far blocked DNA testing of evidence that could prove it.

In March, over the objection of prosecutors, the United States Supreme Court cleared the way for Skinner to bring a federal civil rights lawsuit to compel DNA testing of the untested evidence. Even though that litigation remains pending and unresolved, prosecutors have obtained an execution date for Skinner and appear poised to execute him before the court rules on his claim.

In March, we told you about the case of Henry "Hank" Skinner, who was convicted of the 1993 murder of his girlfriend and her two adult sons. Skinner came within 24 hours of being executed before the Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay so it could decide if it would review his case.