Security News > 2020 > February > Suspect who refused to decrypt hard drives released after four years
2020-02-14 12:12
The contentious case of a man held in custody since 2015 for refusing to decrypt two hard drives appears to have reached a resolution of sorts after the US Court of Appeals ordered his release.
Former Philadelphia police sergeant Francis Rawls was arrested in September 2015, during which the external hard drives were seized along with other computers from his home.
Never formally charged with a crime, a lot seems to have hinged on whether Rawls should be treated as a suspect or a witness.
Rawls has now been released on the basis that the detention under civil contempt does not allow prosecutors to hold a witness for longer than 18 months.
The Rawls case is different in that it's not the company being pursued but the suspect.