12 Angry Computers: Court Cases with Hard Drives
as Witnesses
How hard drives prove to be irrefutable witnesses in
court cases.
In the late 1950s, a movie entitled, 12 Angry Men made a popular screen
appearance. Based on a jury trial, which could lead to a death sentence if the
accused was proven guilty, the judge reminded the jurors, “If there's a
reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused, a reasonable
doubt, then you must bring me a verdict of not guilty. If however, there is no
reasonable doubt, then you must in good conscience find the accused guilty.”
Back in those simple days, it was difficult to prove anything beyond a
reasonable doubt because we all know that some things are not always as they
seem.
Today, in the age of computers, everything is traceable. Fortunately for those
who have been wronged, proof positive often comes in the form of irrefutable
evidence recovered from the computer hard drive of the accused.
Each computer tells a unique story about the habits, lives, and interests of the
person who uses it. Most individuals don’t understand how computer hard drives
store information, and because of this, fragments of information remain on a
computer even when the individual has made attempts to get rid of it. Computers
delete, but do not purge information, which basically means that most
information and images can be restored. This comes in handy when motives and
evidence are needed to prosecute a suspect.
According to the New York Law Journal, Computer Forensics and Data Recovery are
regularly used by attorneys, businesses and law enforcement. Online crimes, such
as fraud, pedophile activities, and deleted emails with incriminating evidence
are only a few of the crimes that call for recovering and analyzing computer
data.
Murder trials, embezzlement, and bankruptcy fraud cases have been based on and
won by evidence in the form of recovered data from computer hard drives.
In June of 2007, murder convictions were upheld due to the instant messages
and emails recovered. This evidence clearly discussed the plans and motives of a
teenage girl and her boyfriend, who murdered the girl’s mother because of her
opposition to the couple’s relationship.
In the late 1990s, SC, a contract company, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Being
a billion dollar operation, investigations loomed and the company agreed to
switch to a Chapter 7 case. With too many unanswered questions, the company’s
computers and records were seized. An electronic data recovery firm reviewed the
hard drives, recovering over 3,000 deleted files which proved fraudulent
activity, embezzlement, offshore bank accounts, and other undisclosed
investments. The data recovered from the company’s hard drives assisted in the
recovery of over one million dollars that would have directly profited the
owners in their fraudulent scheme.
With the technology and data recovery methods that we have today, anyone that
uses a computer and commits a crime can be profiled and eventually convicted.
Just as DNA is used in court cases today, an individual’s computer is
essentially their technological DNA.
Data recovery services have the capability of supplying evidence which removes
all doubt as to the intent and actions of any individual in question.
For more information about our data recovery
and computer forensic service please call us toll free at 866-340-0111.
You may also
click on the following link to request a free data recovery quote.
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