Freed by Facebook

 Teen’s Facebook status spares him from Rikers Island.

Words by Letese` Clark

At this very moment millions of people are tweeting or updating their Facebook statuses to tell the world of their everyday living. Some updates will make people laugh, some think, some sad, and some upset. Rodney Bradford, 19, of Harlem, New York is probably looking back at his Facebook status from Saturday, October 17 updated at 11: 49 A.M. and rejoicing since it was his escape from Rikers Island.

Hearing he was wanted for a robbery in Brooklyn the following day, Bradford turned himself in, confident he would be cleared. However, after a victim selected him out of a line up, he was charged with robbery in the first degree and shipped to Rikers. After Rodney Bradford Sr. discovered his son’s Facebook update, Bradford’s attorney, Robert Reuland, realized he had an unbeatable alibi. The district attorney subpoenaed Facebook for documentation that would prove Bradford had updated his account from his father’s home in Harlem. Surprisingly it worked. Rodney Bradford was released from prison based on his Facebook update.

Remember when your where younger and you found your mom going through MySpace inbox and didn’t talk to her for about week? What about the friend request you recently received from her on Facebook that you denied? It may be to your benefit to accept her friend request because she made provide your alibi if you’re in trouble. Some believe that social networks are a waste of time, but in Rodney Bradford’s case they were a savior.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/12/facebook.alibi/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 9:27 pm and is filed under News & Blogs and tagged with alibi, facebook, internet, jail, online, prison, Rikers Island, Rodney Bradford, social networking, twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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