Jammie Thomas Admits Hard Drive Swap, Pleads Innocence

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 17, 2009 - 11:06am.

Duluth, Minn. - Jammie Thomas-Rasset took the witness stand in her own defense on Wednesday, against charges from the RIAA that she infringed copyrights by sharing songs on the Kazaa file-sharing network, Ars Technica reported. A day earlier, attorneys for the record labels had called several experts who had examined Thomas-Rasset's computer hard drive, which the defendant admitted had been replaced during the period between when she received was initially accused of copyright infringement, and when she eventually turned the drive over as evidence.

Thomas-Rasset testified yesterday that the Kazaa account that shared the same "tereastarr" username that she had used exclusively for other online accounts for years was not hers, and otherwise denied the charges against her.

It was also revealed that the defendant wrote a paper in college on Napster, arguing that its original incarnation was legal under U.S. law.

On Wednesday, Thomas-Rasset took the stand in her own defense, and maintained that there is no direct evidence linking her to the sharing of songs on Kazaa.

She also brought up the possibility that an ex-boyfriend, who liked many of the heavy metal bands whose songs were allegedly shared by her, also had access to the PC in question.

Thomas-Rasset became emotional near the end of her testimony, when she was permitted to tell the jury how the charges have affected her life over the past three years.

Closing arguments in the case are scheduled for Thursday.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/kbq80 (Ars Technica)

http://snipurl.com/kblta (Ars Technica)