Busted By Technology

A couple of very interesting true crime stories from Winds of Change.NET "Circle of 10: Discovery" member Jeffrey Harrow show where things are headed. Both highlight some of the social and privacy implications of technology.

Story #1: A 35-year old man who was just arrested for a murder committed 21 years ago. DNA technology then couldn't lift a "DNA fingerprint" from the victim's body, but this was finally accomplished last year. The question then, was how to legally get a DNA sample from the suspect to test for a match?

The authorities sent him a letter containing a form he had to fill out, along with a self-addressed (and assumedly stamped) return envelope. All he had to do was sign the form, lick the flap, and drop it in a mailbox. This freely-given DNA sample was then analyzed, matched to the "fingerprint" on the body, and he was arrested.

Story #2: In a different kind of privacy issue, another man was just sentenced to 30 years in jail based on the evidence stored in his car's "black box" -- it documented for the police that he was actually moving at 100 MPH just prior to hitting a car containing two teenagers. Similar systems are already built into 25 million US cars as part of the engine and data monitoring system!