Doug Cutrell wrote: | >Ah well, then the police just got to find the fingerprints and all the usual | >things, right? What's cyberspace got to do with it? | | The point, of course, is that there is no risk to the person *placing* the | contract. The assassin, as you say, has all the usual risks. That is not really correct. The risk is reduced, not minimalized. Further, I will argue that the reduction is not even very significant. The usual suspects will be dragged out; family members, insurance beneficiaries, business partners. The tracing of the money from payer to assassin might be difficult, but there will probably be a large, unaccounted for withdrawal from some back account. The police will be able to find a killer with a motive; very few people would pay to have someone killed with whom they have only a minimal connection. The anonymous nature of the funds & contract negotiation will make finding this person more difficult, not impossible. Adam