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Comments: 160 +- News: Robbery Suspect Cleared By Facebook Alibi on Saturday November 14, @09:15AM
Posted
by
Soulskill
on Saturday November 14, @09:15AM
from the your-computer-is-broadcasting-an-ip-address dept.
from the your-computer-is-broadcasting-an-ip-address dept.
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postermmxvicom writes "Rodney Bradford has been cleared of robbery charges because of a Facebook update. The defense was able to prove that the update was made from his father's house, 13 miles away from the crime committed one minute earlier. Lawyer John G. Browning said, 'This is the first case that I’m aware of in which a Facebook update has been used as alibi evidence. We are going to see more of that because of how prevalent social networking has become.' Surely, this must be media hype, since it would not be a difficult alibi to fake."
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Awesome! (Score:5, Funny)
at> curl -d 'status=lol watching tv' http://www.facebook.com
at> <EOT>
job 1 at 2009-11-14 15:36
Now, who to murder first?
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Re:Awesome! (Score:5, Funny)
"WHO to murder first"? Your grammar teacher.
Well that appears to be you, so start writing your will.
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Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
In thirty minutes, post the status "lol watching tv" to Facebook. It's not complete (due to logins and cookies not being utilised by curl in most cases), but it explains the idea pretty clearly if you know a bit about at and curl.
Probably wasn't the case here.. (Score:5, Interesting)
But what happens when scripting becomes involved..
Write a script to make a "hey.. not out murdering my wife's lover" post then destroy/shred itself whilst you're out doing your chainsaw work.
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Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Or just SSH with your iPhone.
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Hi, you must be new here!
You realize they could then TRACE your iphone location at a given time, right?
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Hi, you must be new here!
You realize they could then TRACE your iphone location at a given time, right?
Epic Fail, dude. SSH into your home linux box and do the update there. There are many remote desktop apps for the iPhone, and you could use Lynx on a Linux box in a pinch.
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Epic fail yourself, they can trace where your iPhone was, no need to care about where that facebook update appeared to come from then.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Now that was a real epic fail.
That should have been:
"lol, who modded such a retarded post up?"
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And you'll have pre-scouted the area for an open wifi node, I assume? Because if your iphone's cell connection isn't off, the cops will wonder why your phone handshaked with a tower 13 miles from your house.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Flight mode. Very appropriately named, actually.
Re:Probably wasn't the case here.. (Score:5, Informative)
Seems his facebook status update alibi is in connection with what witnesses said too;
Bradford and witnesses insisted he was innocent. They said he was at his father's Harlem apartment when the crime occurred.
So it's not only about the status update. Also, I would think a murder case would get more investigation than a robbery too.
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Parent
Re: (Score:2)
So it's not only about the status update. Also, I would think a murder case would get more investigation than a robbery too.
Agreed. Finger prints, DNA, blood stains, etc. This is just enough to get you off on "reasonable doubt" for a lighter crime as it will not be investigated as fully nor result in as much evidence (robber leaves finger prints, murder causes DNA to fly all over the place).
Re: (Score:2)
The point is that was a type of crime that was not likely to be premeditated, nor his status update looked like a way to construct an alibi, any crime that can assumed to be premeditated would not be excused by such an alibi.
Sweet! (Score:4, Insightful)
So basically,
I can go commit any crime I want, as long as I use a remote desktop/VNC program to remote into my PC at home from my smart phone and post something to Facebook immediately afterward?
SWEET! Time to to rob that bank!
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Re:Sweet! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Parent
Re:Sweet! (Score:5, Funny)
This is /. We don't DO "lower tech" solutions here bub.
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Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Duct tape is lower tech. Are you saying you don't use duct tape?
Be careful with that answer.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Only to keep my tinfoil hat together
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Please hand over your geek card on the way out.
Re:Sweet! (Score:5, Insightful)
Not only is that not geeky, it also adds an accomplice to the mix who you'll have to trust and hope they don't squeal. VPN FTW!
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Parent
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Like his dad.
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Like his dad.
Who do you think was doing the robbery?
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Just hope they don't rat you out.
Facebook status: (Score:5, Funny)
Not robbing
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Double-edged sword. (Score:5, Interesting)
On the one hand, they were using IP addresses to identify and prosecute people for 'illegal' downloading and accessing child porn. Now, someone was aquitted based on their IP address.
Interesting indeed. Probably now, the authorities will realize the futility of using IP addresses as evidence.
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Re: (Score:2)
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Futility? I think they just solidified it, even tho it defies logic that it was actually *you* doing the update ( or download ). An IP proves nothing other then where the crime/alibi occurred, but opens up a lot of people of false accusations, convictions and jail time for something they didn't actually do.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, someone was aquitted based on their IP address.
No, someone was aquitted based on the IP address their account was used from. There is a distinct difference.
In this case, there is a username and password that is used to identify someone, not just an IP address.
It's distinctly possible that he gave his account information to someone else, but there were witnesses to corroborate the alibi as well.
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You know, there was also witness testimony that the suspect didn't commit the crime. It wasn't just the Facebook status that acquitted him. Now if the Facebook status was the only thing that showed he didn't do it and he was acquitted, then I'd say that's news. As it is, it's not news.
Don't Call Me... (Score:2, Funny)
Shirley!
Sorry. I am so sorry. I'll leave now. So sorry.
VPN is too complicated (Score:2, Insightful)
Slashdot Alibi... (Score:4, Funny)
I could have been cleared, but I posted as an Anonymous Coward.
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Presumption of innocence (Score:4, Insightful)
One thing that some folks have forgotten here is that the guy was presumed innocent until the prosecution could prove him guilty. If there's evidence from Facebook indicating that he updated his status, then the prosecution would need to show that the guy was using a proxy/tunnel/whatever, or that he had someone else post for him, etc. Otherwise, it provides a reasonable doubt as to whether he was even at the scene of the crime.
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This really just shows how weak the prosecution's case was. I suspect they locked him up in Rikers for 12 days to hopefully get him to just give up and plead guilty to a lesser charge. That way they get a conviction, the city is "tough on crime", and they didn't actually have to make the effort of putting together an actual case in front of a judge and jury.
When they can make your life miserable until you confess, there's no need for a presumption of innocence. This guy got lucky that he had eye witnesse
Not how evidence works (Score:2)
. If there's evidence from Facebook indicating that he updated his status, then the prosecution would need to show that the guy was using a proxy/tunnel/whatever, or that he had someone else post for him, etc.
You have a fundamental misunderstanding of how evidence works. Even if it's evidence in your favor, it has to still be valid.
This case is ridiculous; the prosecutor should be fired for gross incompetence. All the prosecution would have to do is ask "could a login from his computer only be done b
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Crime of Opportunity (Score:3, Informative)
The article doesn't say, but what if this was a crime of opportunity? What if the evidence at the scene and witness's testimonies painted a motive that indicated it was a crime of opportunity, and not a pre-planned crime? If that was a case, then accepting a Facebook posting made at the time of the crime seems pretty reasonable. Maybe he called his father just after the crime, but one minute after an unplanned crime? That feels unlikely to me, too. And anyways, the court had testimonies and other evidence hinting that he wasn't the guy, so I don't think this will set a precedent that Facebook postings should be accepted without question in court.
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There's an app for that (Score:4, Funny)
Say you want to go burglarize someone's house, but you need to make it appear that you're posting on Facebook from your parents' basement? Well there's an app for that too!
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Parent
Re:There's an app for that (Score:5, Funny)
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Parent
Re:HTTP Proxy? VPN Tunnel? (Score:5, Insightful)
It would be a great amount of effort for a small robbery to perform this task and to get the corroborating evidence. There is very reasonable doubt that he committed the crime.
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Parent
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I would really like to see legal reforms that create new "specialist" branches of experts who exist only to explain the significance of particular areas to the court without actually taking sides in cases (e.g. Technology, Science, High-End Accounting, etc).
This sounds a lot like the expert witness system we have now. (They're not neutral, but both sides get to use them). The problem is that a lawyer still has to know that an expert is needed.
And, yes, it's too bad if the prosecution here did not think to ask the obvious questions you raise. (But remember, the defense doesn't have to prove that he didn't use a proxy, etc. The burden of proof is on the prosecution to show that he did.) But fear not, a new generation of lawyers is coming up through the law schoo
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I've mentioned this before, but law enforcement doesn't really have the money to investigate this type of stuff. Even the guys in specialized divisions don't, the way you generally get there though is starting as a beat cop and working your way up with a shown interest. That leaves oh...99% of the people who know what they're doing, doing something else.
Those of you in the /. crowd besides myself going into law enforcement raise your hands. I'm going to guess the pickings will be slim. I'll hazard even
Re:HTTP Proxy? VPN Tunnel? (Score:5, Insightful)
They did consider VPN's and Proxies and fairies too.
They also had witnesses, aka Real People, who also testified he was at his fathers house.
It was corroborating evidence, not the piece the case hinged on.
Once again, Facebook verified what multiple REAL PEOPLE were telling the cops. It wasn't the only piece of evidence.
You love how ignorant people are of the legal profession, I love how people like you are so pompous and know-it-all's they can't even read the article.
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Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You must be new to /. if you think people read the articles before responding...
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Re:HTTP Proxy? VPN Tunnel? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Parent
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I posted this in another reply but I see a common misunderstanding: The point is that was a type of crime that was not likely to be premeditated, nor his status update looked like a way to construct an alibi, any crime that can assumed to be premeditated would not be excused by such an alibi.
There's no "lack of understanding of the technology" involved here, is your lack of understanding of the circumstances.
Legal pad salesmen (Score:3, Interesting)
If lawyers are anything like doctors, they get their information from legal pad salesmen and follow whatever the latest legal fad is, no matter how obviously stupid it is. Keep in mind that half the population has an IQ under 100 and that the civilization would collapse if half the population were excluded from gainful employment. In short, the world is being run by idiots.
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