One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine - Sir William Osler
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McKinnon gets yet another chance
POLITICAL FOOTBALL Gary Mckinnon's case for extradition is now subject to yet another judicial review, according to reports.
McKinnon was first arrested seven years ago, and since then his case has twisted and turned its way through courts and appeals. This latest twist will see his case be examined afresh by a High Court judge, once again raising the possibility that the Aspergers suffering UFO fan could be tried in the UK to spare him almost certain conviction by the US courts, and likely life imprisonment.
Despite it being almost a decade since he was arrested, McKinnon is facing what is called a fast-track extradition to the US. Once there he would be tried for hacking into NASA computers and would have an excessively large book thrown at him. He's gathered support from many UK politicians and human rights groups and has even had a "Free Gary McKinnon" campaign set up in his honour.
This latest event will see the judge rule on whether the Home Secretary Alan Johnson was right to opt out of intervening in the case, when in November he chose not to attempt to block it.
Responding to a news story in the Telegraph, the Free Gary McKinnon group wrote, "Since Judgments may take several weeks or months to be published, the outcome of this Judicial Review is very likely to be after the forthcoming General Election, and over 8 years since Gary was first arrested."
It adds that people should poll their poliitical representatives on where they stand on the case and with the general election forthcoming, vote accordingly.
"We hope that you will all ask your election candidates to publicly state exactly what they would do with the Gary McKinnon case, or with future extradition cases to the USA which could be tried here in the UK, if they became Home Secretary after the next election, and then to vote accordingly," it said.
Today Gary's mother Janis Sharp, tweeted, "Gary has just been granted a Judicial Review of Alan Johnson's decision to extradite. We're so pleased [and] the sense of relief is indescribable."
Dour Dragon's Den investor Duncan Bannatyne, added, "Good news on Gary McKinnon today but we must keep up the pressure on [the Government]."
We're rather inclined to think that the US government is so keen to extradite Gary McKinnon and try him in its own tame courts, and then lock him up for life, because it's quite afraid that a UK court might allow his defence to adduce some evidence to the effect that he really did observe images of UFOs, and that NASA and US intelligence agencies have been quietly air-brushing such images out of photos released to the public for decades.
It can't all just be about the embarrassment that he caused the US space agency and its military, can it? µ
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He may of been in the UK when he commited the crime, (and that is what it is a crime). But he commited the crime in the US.
So that's where he should be tried, and when found guilty charged for his crimes.
IT DOES NOT MATTER, what it cost the US or UK, there is no cost benifit analysis on crime.
SO send him to the states, he broke into US computers, and broke US laws, for all purposes he was IN the US when he commited the crime.
it also does not matter if the system was easy or hard to break into, he knew what he was doing and he was aware that it was illegal. Locks are to keep honest people out.
If you walk past a shop and you see there is no attendent present, do you have the "right" to take what you like, because it was there for the taking ..
NO, enter the real world, stop waisting tax payers money trying get him out of his crimes.
Throw the loser on the next available flight to the US, and stop whining about it, you break the laws of a country, you abide by the laws of that country.
Send him away, and all the rest of the 'hackers' losers, who are infact just criminals.
Punishment is meant to be a deterrent. In McKinnon's case it's obvious that he desperately does not want to be punished in the U.S. for his crimes. That's a good thing and all the more reason why he should be given the appropriate 25 year prison sentence and spent it all in the U.S. Other criminals could learn from McKinnon's punishment in the U.S.
Im sure that when that treaty was signed at that time the US did not torture prisoners, but we all know that they do now, and shouldnt that alone viod any treaties.
It would be nice to see a breakdown of the costs the Yanks claim he caused in damage - If it was the cost of securing their systems properly, then it is not down to him. As someone mentioned, he hasn't hurt anyone, or profited from his actions so the idea that he should receive a custodial sentence is preposterous. He committed the crime in the UK, he should be tried in the UK.
@thechevron - And you think that the likely punishment is commensurate to the gravity of his transgression? Sheesh! Chances are, he thought it's just a fun game. Did he kill anyone? Even murderers get lighter penalties sometimes.
Everibody knows we have satelites photos updated regulary, and yes it would bee suspicious if some photos were missing: thats wy the photos are edited. Dont you know that the all moon surface has been photographed? Tnat Google Images must pass trough USA Department of Defence, etc, etc? Where have you been Ted? Listen to your own astronauts and then think about it...
...and they really should just send him away, apart from the fact that the US say he cost them like 500 billion dollars or something stupid he is also costin the uk a fortune.
Aspergers doesn't mean you don't know the difference between right and wrong.
...they ship McKinnon off to the U.S. to be prosecuted like any other dirtbag criminal.
I hope the 7-8 years that have already gone by are thought of as part of his sentence.
@mike - you make some very good points!
Now, on to the "WTF" part...
Quote from end of article, "NASA and US intelligence agencies have been quietly air-brushing such images out of photos released to the public for decades"
WTF? Please show me just one image that the government released to the public that has had an image of a UFO airbrushed OUT of it. What would be their reason for releasing the picture if it shows "nothing"? Government to the people: "Look at this picture of the pretty (empty) sky." "Oh, here's another one of a nice rainbow." "See? No UFOs, so they must not exist."
I'll agree the government may have something to hide from time to time, but really, to airbrush something out and release the pictures to the pubic and say these are the pictures that prove there is no such thing as UFOs? A lot of the people in the US public are fools, but even they wouldn't believe that. Well, some of them wouldn't.
As for Gary McKinnon's trial - I could care less where it is held, as long as it does really happen at some point during his life and as long as it is fair (to both parties).
If a woman is raped and is embarrassed by it, does that mean the rapist should go free? Nope. If a person gets past American security and America is embarrassed by it, does that mean the hacker should go free? Nope again.
Oh, and aspergers.. http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=235&a=3527
1% of the british population has it, so does that mean that 1% of the population has a free ride to do whatever they want?
Why would the yanks believe we're gonna try him at all? What law says we are forbidden to try him while they are trying to extradite?
Gary McKinnon exposed a weakness in the US Security Systems. The Americans are embarrassed yet they should be grateful McKinnon exposed this so they can ask him how it was done. Not persecute the man because of their own weakness in their National Security Systems.
Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk
http://carl-agpcuk.livejournal.com/"
http://disqus.com/Carl_Barron/
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