McKinnon is thrown a lifeline
THE BRITISH HOME SECRETARY has thrown a lifeline to hacker Gary McKinnon with a promise to examine new medical evidence "very carefully" before deciding on his extradition to the United States.
Alan Johnson told MPs that he had "stopped the clock" on proceedings in order to give McKinnon's lawyers time to consider medical reports and make legal representations.
Mr McKinnon, 43, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. His laywers fear he will top himself if he is extradited to a US prison.
So far the High Court in London has refused McKinnon leave to appeal to Britain's new Supreme Court.
Johnson said that while there was no chance of McKinnon being tried in this country, he had to ensure that his Article 3 human rights were being respected. "It's this new medical evidence that I will be looking at very carefully," he said.
American investigators accuse McKinnon of hacking into 97 computers soon after September 11, 2001. His defence has been that he was only looking for UFO sightings in US space agency and military computers.
While US prosecutors admit they could not make terrorism charges against McKinnon stick in court, they still want to lock him up and chuck away the key. µ
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You have got to be kidding me! Asperger's is not a medical condition like, for example, having MS or cancer. It's a freakin' high-function social disorder, meaning he's a smart guy that doesn't play well with others.
I know that might seem harsh, and I don't mean to take away from the people who truly do suffer with autism-spectrum disorders. But the fact is that McKinnon was smart enough to hack 97 computers and smart enough to exploit the peculiar European belief that the US court system is somehow unduly harsh (which is ironic in itself, since it's the US, much more so than Europe, has strong guarantees in place to protect the rights of the people).
McKinnon screwed himself on this one. If he would have come clean in the beginning, his sentence would have been very light. In fact, his Asperger's would have played in his favor. Now, it's just an excuse to get out of paying the piper.
Let's hope after careful review of mcKinnon's medical condition that Gary ships off to a U.S. prison for the next 50 years for his crimes.
"he's a smart guy that doesn't play well with others"
You mean like George W. Bush?
Oh hang on...
@at Ryan and Donna:
Have you not been paying attention, the US government is embarrassed by the ease that the dude broke into their network, so they want to parade McKinnon around as an "example." Simple fact is that he will get a much fairer trial in Europe and a fairer sentence.
lol, first time I haven't wanted someone to come to the United States because I cared about their welfare, usually they're better off in the States. I guess lawsuits are a different kettle of fish.
we have more than our share of talent judges already.
He showed the US what a piss poor job they di with their security. He should be praised! http://unconfirmedsources.com/index.php?itemid=4158
His extradition could be stopped because they are scared McKinnon will kill himself? I think he will probably get 5 years or less in prison and probably be allowed to serve the time in the U.K., but if the guy wants to kill himself, rather than serve a prison sentence, that is his choice. It is not a compelling reason to stop extradition.
McKinnon is no different than any other criminal. He broke into (97) computers and cause $800K in damages. He should get a fair trial in the U.S. and be sentenced like any other criminal. All the other nonsense is just a smokescreen to avoid prosecution for his crimes.
If the home secretary were properly informd about aspergers and the obsessive traits he would no be able to even consider extradtion for Gary.
I am the mother of a gifted son with aspergers and he is obsessed with programming and unable to stop even when his hands hurt from 14 hour days - it is not a choice. I am so concerned by the ignorance of many people, including sad to say some professionals.
www.asteens.co.uk
...Mckinnon will have an extra ten years added to his prison sentence for frivolous evasion of extradition to escape prosecution.
This is a joke - DOD/NASA used blank pass-words !!(ie NO passwords...) - was
stoned - "looking for UFO's" - used his
girlfriends computer ... - used his own
email - left comments - what more ???
A secret hacker wouldn't do that - That
was why he was the only one caught ...
AND he found evidence of UFO'S !! They
want him so they can show him the real
thing !!