AMAZON RELEASES ‘MURDER’ EVIDENCE

Amazon has allowed voice recordings made by its Echo smart speaker to be used as evidence in a murder trial (see ‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 497). The company initially refused but James Bates, who is on trial in Arkansas accused of strangling Victor Collins at his home, has offered the recordings as part of his defence. Police say that Bates’s Echo may have picked up incriminating noises or voices.