Police Sued for Burying DNA Evidence that Kept an Innocent Man in Jail

Joshua Maxton has sued the City of Cincinnati and two of its police officials for suppressing DNA evidence that proved his innocence and kept him in jail on murder charges, facing a potential life sentence, for nearly seven months.

Maxton was arrested in June 2015 for the murder of eighteen-year-old Robin Pearl in the North Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati. After being jailed for nearly a year, a jury found Maxton not guilty of the murder in June 2016. But it was only in the middle of trial that he and his lawyers learned that the police had obtained DNA evidence confirming Maxton’s innocence and identifying another assailant seven months earlier, which they kept hidden.

Soon after Maxton’s June 2015 arrest, witnesses came forward to identify another person named Donte Foggie as the lone shooter. These eyewitnesses stated that Maxton was not the shooter and that he did not even have a gun. Forensic evidence backed them up when no gunshot residue was found on Maxton’s hands. Over the next few months the case unraveled further: a Big K cola can that had been dropped near the shooter’s position on Burton Avenue was tested for DNA. Maxton’s DNA was not on the can. The police learned in October 2015 that the DNA belonged to Foggie.  (Seattle Times, June 9, 2018)
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Why would the police let an investigation drag on for months, when there was evidence to support Mr. Maxton's innocence?

When allegations in the initial complaint were shown to be false (or at least lacking any clear evidence to support them), where was the probable cause to continue the investigation?

Allegations are not proof! Circumstantial evidence does not create probable cause!

When police officers focus their case on information that targets their suspect, but exclude or disregard information that would tend to clear that person; should those police officers be held personally responsible for investigative misconduct?  Should their supervisors be held responsible? What about the police department / agency itself?

You can read the civil rights complaint here.

Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART)

According to the Homeland Security News Wire (June 8, 2018): "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is quietly building what will likely become the largest database of biometric and biographic data on citizens and foreigners in the United States. The agency’s new Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) database will include multiple forms of biometrics - from face recognition to DNA, data from questionable sources, and highly personal data on innocent people. It will be shared with federal agencies outside of DHS as well as state and local law enforcement and foreign governments.

The records DHS plans to include in HART will chill and deter people from exercising their First Amendment protected rights to speak, assemble, and associate. Data like face recognition makes it possible to identify and track people in real time, including at lawful political protests and other gatherings. Other data DHS is planning to collect—including information about people’s “relationship patterns” and from officer “encounters” with the public—can be used to identify political affiliations, religious activities, and familial and friendly relationships. These data points are also frequently colored by conjecture and bias."

HART is being developed by Northrop Grumman and is the organization’s next-generation recognition program, replacing the Automated Biometric Identity System (IDENT) built in the 1990s.  When fully implemented, the Northrop Grumman-developed HART will feature multi-modal processing and matching technology that uses a combination of face, finger and iris biometrics.
The old IDENT system currently contains around 240,000,000 records, the new HART system which will grow to encompass biometrics for 500,000,000 people, including hundreds of millions of Americans.

The huge holdings of the new HART database will be widely available to US government agencies. The DHS, which is responsible for Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Transport Security Administration, can share this data with other US agencies including the FBI and Department of Defense. Perhaps even more troubling is the sharing of highly-personal biometric data about citizens between governments. Privacy International points out that the US exchanges biometric data with authorities in the other ‘Five Eyes‘ countries – the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Other regions too are increasing the sharing of sensitive information.

 

How to Leave Google Behind: Quick Guide to Take Back Your Privacy Online

For many the Internet is Google: Search, mail, videos - Google is the major player in all these fields. But Google uses all data it gathers across its services to post targeted ads, and to massively profit from the data many share so freely with the Internet giant. The time has come to stop this unlimited data mining and to take back our right to privacy! Here's a quick guide as to how you can use the Internet without sharing all your data with Google.

This guide is provided by Tutanota. These guys are a German e-mail provider and privacy advocates. If you don't have a Tutanota account, consider getting one - Tutanota is a great e-mail service, with may good features, and best of all they don't spy on you!

Hacked: 92 Million Account Details for DNA Testing Service

 

When you sign up to a website handling sensitive information, perhaps a medical service or social network, one of the basic things you’re probably hoping for is that the site can keep control of its users’ data. Unfortunately for customers of MyHeritage, a genealogy and DNA testing service, a researcher uncovered 92 million account details related to the company sitting on a server, according to an announcement from MyHeritage. The data relates to users who signed up to MyHeritage up to and including October 26, 2017—the date of the breach—the announcement adds.

(Motherboard, June 5, 2018)

Tutanota

Tutanota is a free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted email operating out of Germany. Tutanota uses zero-knowledge encryption, meaning that even Tutanota cannont access the content of your encrypted messages. In an article on their blog, How Tutanota Secures Your Private Key and Your Data at All Times, Tutanota explains how their encrypted e-mail service works.

With Tutanota you get an e-mail service that cares about your privacy and takes active steps to protect it.  I like, use, and recommend Tutanota. These guys do e-mail right.

Facebook Software Glitch Made Private Posts Public for 14 Million Users

KOMO 4 News reported (June 8, 2018):  Facebook says a software glitch made some private posts "public" for as many as 14 million users last month. Facebook says it has fixed the problem, in which millions of users around the world had their default sharing setting changed from private to public. Facebook says a software glitch made some private posts "public" for as many as 14 million users last month. The software bug affected new posts from May 18 to 22.
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If it's on Facebook, it's NOT Private !  Regardless of what you think your privacy settings may be on social media, remember that those settings can fail because of a software glitch, or simply be changed as a result of an update to your social media account.

How to Create an Anonymous Email

 

Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. . . . It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation . . . at the hand of an intolerant society. (McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334 (1995))



There are many reasons that someone might want to speak anonymously. Perhaps you are a whistleblower reporting fraud, waste, and abuse or security violations within your organization and fear retaliation for exposing these crimes. You may want to research and discuss a sensitive health or lifestyle issue without revealing your identity to others. It may be that you hold unpopular political and social beliefs and fear harassment and retaliation for expressing your opinion. Or, maybe you want to request public records without having your name and address entered into a government database.

Best VPN Services (May 22, 2018) published an interesting article, "How to Create an Anonymous Email". The article discusses the need for anonymous e-mail, and as the article's title suggests how to create one.

In addition to the information provided by Best VPN Services, I recommend that you always set up and access your anonymous e-mail accounts through TOR. By using TOR your IP address is not visible to the web-sites to which you connect, and your true IP address will not be contained in the headers of the e-mail you send from your web-based e-mail account, nor in the server logs of that e-mail service provider.

If the e-mail provider where you set up your anonymous account requires that you respond to a text message (SMS) to prove that you are human when setting up your account, try to accomplish this through a SMS Verification Message Web-Site. At a minimum, don't receive this verification text message on your personal cell-phone.

If your threat model includes the possibility of having your e-mail records subpoenaed, choose an e-mail provider in a country other than where you live. Records from foreign companies can be obtained through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT); but having your e-mail account in a foreign country increases the effort that must be expended to obtain those records.

With an e-mail address that you signed up for using TOR, and to which you have provided no true information about yourself, you have an anonymous account. It is absolutely essential however that you never create a connection between your anonymous e-mail account and the real you. Never send an e-mail to yourself from this account or to anyone specifically associated with you such as close friends or family. Never use this account to sign up for anything that can be associated with you. And most importantly never log into this account without using TOR. One mistake can associate this anonymous account and every message ever sent from it with you. Carelessness got the Dread Pirate Roberts arrested, so keep this in mind.

If you truly want to remain anonymous in your communications it is essential that you are always careful to avoid leaving clues that can be traced back to the real you. Your writing style or use of unique words and phrases can give clues to your identity. Commenting about things that only you or a small group of people should have knowledge of can reveal your identity as well.

Never use your anonymous account to harass, threaten, or intimidate others. If you use your anonymous account for illegal purposes it will draw the attention of law enforcement, and focus greater scrutiny on your activities, thereby increasing your risk of being identified. Remember CIA Director David Petraeus and former military intelligence officer Paula Broadwell had their private communications uncovered by the FBI after Ms. Broadwell's on-line activity drew the attention of law enforcement. Don’t be Petraeus and Broadwell.

Finally, don’t use your anonymous e-mail account over a long period of time. Long term usage can create patterns that an analyst can use to identify you. When you have accomplished your purpose delete the account, and create a new one in the future if needed.