Technology as a Witness

In today's New York Times, the front page article "Murder Suspect Has Witness That Doesn't Lie: Subway Fare Card" caught my eye immediately. I was interested to find out what exactly that meant. Did his subway card prove he did murder someone, or that he was innocent? I was also curious to find out how exactly his subway card was a witness.

The article starts off with a blind lead, describing some background information on the case before revealing that the suspect's MetroCard has become a key witness. The rest of the article is organized around several main points:

• The details of the fatal shooting that happened in May
  
• The suspect (Jason Jones)'s alibi
• Why Jones and his brother Corey were arrested
• How Jones' lawyer got his MetroCard records, which support his alibi
• Other electronics that confirm Jones' alibi (the punch-clock at his work and a check-cashing outlet)
• What's happening with the case now

I think this article is really interesting. This man has been in jail since May, but he was finally released on bail thanks to the records from his MetroCard that show that his alibi is true. With all of the technology nowadays, it is sometimes a little scary to think that our every moves can be traced. (The article even mentioned the fear of a "Big Brother"-like society.) But then when something like this happens, it shows that the advancements in technology can be a good thing too, and help justice be served.

From this article, I learned a lot more about the tracking that exists in a lot of newer technology. I was aware of this, to an extent, but I didn't realize that it could be accessed by policemen or other professionals to use as a witness in a murder case. The article said that, if convicted, Jones and his brother could potentially face the death penalty. I think the fact that the records from Jones' MetroCard match up with his alibi and seem to prove that he's innocent is great. I hope that Jones, if he really is innocent, can go free and that the police can focus on finding the true murderer.