Reading this story actually makes me ill. When a technical defense protects you from the state, they jail you for contempt.
When you say, "but we have a constitutional amendment that protects us from self-incrimination", they say "sure but that doesn't apply here."
And of course it is child porn that is in question. It is a mere crime to "possess" it, that is to say, possess a hard drive on which images are found.
It goes without saying that images, at any point in time before, after, or during an investigation, can appear against your will on your hard drive.
But since it is so morally outrageous, it is the go to charge that prosecutors use to jail their personal and political enemies. Or just soft targets, I guess...
I can see where you are coming from, and I really want to avoid commenting on if he is truly a pedo.
I agree with the poster below you that they should charge him if they do have that evidence.
But if they are holding him in contempt while waiting to force decrypt so that legal precedent can be set, or if they're holding him so that this way he is in jail without getting credit for time served on his potential cp charges, then this is all a pretty hefty abuse of due process and etc.
We really need to defend even the worst people's right to a decent correctional experience. Why?
Because if you are ever wrongfully imprisoned, you would want the same. And it really does happen!
The problem is it feels like they're using this case, where the guy is obviously guilty, to set a precedent despite having enough evidence to convict him already.
Maybe next time they won't have evidence, but there's a handy encrypted drive to get someone with instead.
When you say, "but we have a constitutional amendment that protects us from self-incrimination", they say "sure but that doesn't apply here."
And of course it is child porn that is in question. It is a mere crime to "possess" it, that is to say, possess a hard drive on which images are found.
It goes without saying that images, at any point in time before, after, or during an investigation, can appear against your will on your hard drive.
But since it is so morally outrageous, it is the go to charge that prosecutors use to jail their personal and political enemies. Or just soft targets, I guess...