Although it had some relevance to establishing motive and state of mind, it was too vague and may have unduly influenced the jury, the court said. Harris was no longer seen as the murderer, and the state decided not to prosecute him again.
But he could not get out of jail after “lewd and sometimes illicit sexual messages and photographs with four minors” were revealed on his phone, due to which he had to be jailed on separate charges. He was finally released in 2025.
Or the case of the Florida woman accused of strangling and robbing her own friend for money to buy drugs. Police say the woman searched for the following an hour before the murder:
- “Chemicals to render a person unconscious”
- “Making people unconscious”
- “Ways to kill people in their sleep”
- “How to suffocate someone”
- “How to poison someone”
This was in addition to reportedly moving to Yahoo! Answer page titled “What’s in those rags that make people faint?” And a Wikipedia entry for “murder-suicide”.
Our phones, our confidants
From nude photos to dead babies and questions about “luxury prisons for the rich,” our devices have become such a part of our lives that there’s almost nothing people won’t believe about them.
This excessive trust creates anxiety against excessive misconceptions about our gadgets. Over the years – as just one example – many people have asked whether Facebook listens to your microphone without permission, here is the company’s official response.
But as the examples above show, there is no reason for companies to resort to this kind of spying, because users cannot wait to willingly reveal the most intimate details of their minds and bodies. Even if you’re a professional who uses Privacy Mode, your search history could be just a quick summon away.
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