Comment by Sayrus
16 days ago
> According to 404 Media's review, the address on the account was one where neither Smith nor her husband had ever lived. The account had also been accessed through Verizon connections, while Smith says she uses AT&T and has never had a Verizon plan.
> There was also a discrepancy involving the phone used to create the account. Cash App's records showed an iPhone running iOS 16.1.1, an operating system dating back to 2022. Smith, however, provided evidence that her iPhone 13 mini was running the much newer iOS 26.5.2.
That's even crazier. You have to question if they even understand what they're investigating. I expect this to be thrown out in court, although I also have declining faith in our court system.
I think you have to understand that they care more about whether or not they can get a conviction than whatever actually happened. Then the rest of it makes perfect sense.
So beyond the prosecutor, we have to start questioning judges and juries. If the prosecutor so strongly feels that a weak case has a chance of getting a conviction, then what's really wrong here: the prosecutor or the judge/jury part of the system? Prosecutors are famous for only bring cases to trial they feel they can win. That sense normally comes from their experience directly or reading of previous trials.
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They don't care at all. For her it's potentially six years in prison, for the cops, and the prosecutor it's a small potatoes case on a random Thursday.
The plea deal offer kind of says it all, if this reaches the court it will either very quickly be thrown out or they may drop it because it's not worth the time.
I think people underestimate how much the separation of roles matters to the case and to the motivations of the people in each role.
The detectives screwed up by doing a piss poor investigation and identifying the wrong suspect (who is a victim herself in this crime).
The prosecutor cares more about whether they can sell the flawed case to an Arkansas jury or use the low plea bargain cost against the high legal defense cost.
Key insight: the police and prosecutors are not measured by crimes solved but by number of convictions.
Is there a way to know if she is being represented by a public defender?
I believe she's innocent, but neither the ISP nor the iOS version are proof of innocence in any way. You can go login from the neighborhood Starbucks and you can simply update your phone.
In the US, the burden of proof is on the criminal justice system, which is required to prove guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. The defendant's goal is therefore to introduce that reasonable doubt, not necessarily prove innocence. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.