A 2015 Arkansas murder case that had raised privacy questions surrounding "always-on" electronic home devices took a step forward last week after Amazon agreed to release recordings from the murder defendant's Amazon Echo as possible evidence.
The Seattle-based e-commerce company had refused to comply with police warrants requesting the data in December and sought to quash a search warrant in February, court records showed. Although the company would not comment on this specific case, an Amazon spokeswoman told The Washington Post in December that it objected to "overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course."
That changed after the defendant, James Andrew Bates, agreed Friday to allow Amazon to release data from his Echo device to prosecutors. The company turned over the recordings later that day, according to court records.
"Because Mr. Bates is innocent of all charges in this matter, he has agreed to the release of any recordings on his Amazon Echo device to the prosecution," attorneys Kathleen Zellner and Douglas Johnson said in a statement to The Washington Post.
-- submitted from IRC
Previously: Police Seek Amazon Echo Data in Murder Case and Amazon Continues to Resist Requests for "Alexa" Audio Evidence in Arkansas Murder Case
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 11 2017, @06:33PM (1 child)
If "the innocent have nothing to hide" they will release their audio recordings.
Unfortunately, an audio recording is an incomplete picture of a situation, things you hear through a microphone may lead you to think one thing or another that may, or may not be true. There are plenty of murder cases where the accused is innocent, but the limited available evidence is enough to convince a jury otherwise. If there is an expectation that audio/video recordings will always be shown in evidence, then the lack of them will be additional bias to the jury to "form their own opinions," just like taking the 5th.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday March 11 2017, @07:52PM
Indeed. When I was seeing Pinche Lupita we were at my place one time and I started slapping her ass, causing her to squeal with delight -- which prompted my neighbor to call the cops on us because she thought I was beating her. Now that was somewhat embarassing to explain to police.