Autistic UK Hacker faces being shipped out to the US.

[Lord George]

So this is the case of Gary McKinnon a 43 year old man who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome and is a self confessed "bumbling computer nerd", who managed to hack into the US governments computer systems and view top secret documents, was he doing it for money or for reasons of terrorism? No he was looking for information about UFO's and now the US government want him extradited over there where he could face up to 60 years in prison, as opposed to a trial in the UK where the punishment would be much less severe.

So what are your opinions, should he be forced to stand trial in America, does the US government have the right to do this, is it right to punish this socially underdeveloped man in the same way as you would a fully developed one?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8180141.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/aug/02/gary-mckinnon-hacker-extradition

 

[walls of cetepedes]

Holy shit... 60 years? Do you know the sentence for the UK?

 

[barryween]

Mentally underdeveloped or not, he has no right to hack into the US governments computers, no matter what he was looking for. He could have dangerous files and be a threat to us and even if he DOES have Asperger's syndrome he should know better. So I think the US is doing something that needs to be done, I mean, he could have done some major damage had he wanted to.

 

[Amnestic]

"Hey, US Government? Here's my middle finger."

He committed a crime in Britain, as a British citizen, as such he should be tried in Britain, as a British citizen

 

[3rd rung]

if he is a Uk citizens then he should not be extradited, Also I have a relative with this same condition it would really do no good to put him in jail, but he should perhaps have to be supervised better or not allowed on PCs

 

[blipblop]

yes!
Its not like he´s mentaly retarded, he is probably smarter then alot of people.
dont know if it´s right to send him to the US thoug.

 

[L4hlborg]

Basically, what he did was wrong. On the other hand, 60 years is a harsh penalty. I mean, the guy hacked into the computers, but he did tell how he did it, which helps to fix security issues. And he was looking for damn aliens, can he really be taken seriously as a criminal/terrorist? And well, he said that the US army was using Windows and anyone using windows thinking that it's completely safe is... well not exactly smart.

 

[Mekado]

There are extradition treaties between some countries for a reason...either you follow them or you don't (and don't come crying when they'd want someone extradited to britain and the USA answers FU)

Asperger's syndrome has nothing to do with it, it's not like he unknowignly stumbled into the US gvt computer system.

 

[DazZ.]

The servers are in USA, so I say he has tampered with USA property, therefore should be trialed on their terms.

If a person from "country X" tampered with my files (worthless as they are) and stole my property or whatever, but in "country X" that was legal todo so, they should be shipped over to me so I can punch them have them trialled on the terms of where my property is stored.

 

[Aac18]

While its a shame to extradite someone from their home and sentence them to 60 years in prison when they were compelled to commit their crime by their condition, although it doesn't mean he should be excused for it. Personally I think if he's going to be extradited he should be given a far lower sentence (maybe 20 years max?) in a minimum security prison (he's hardly a escape risk or danger to anybody else).

Mind you this is assuming he doesn't drop off the radar and end up as one of the FBI/CIA's counter-hackers (which is quite likely providing they get his condition under control).

 

[iron codpiece]

The crime was committed against the USA so why should they prosocute him?

 

[Lord George]

Holy shit... 60 years? Do you know the sentence for the UK?

Can't find anything in the news, but according to my Law friend (well he's taking a law degree) the maximum sentence for cyber terrorism in the UK is 20 years. Though I doubt he'd get that as he would get a fair trial by a jury of his peers, unlike in the US where I imagine they might be a tad biased against him considering how terrorist jumpy they are.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Its not a serious disability he has.

He was competant enough to manage to hack into US government computers, hence competant enough to understand the consequences.

However I do disagree with shipping him off. He did it in the UK, I personally dont care what hackers do here to the US =P

If he'd hacked UK computers then yeah throw the book at him but meh.

 

[Laughing Man]

He committed a crime against the US, they have every right to put him on trial for his actions. What seem to be the issue here is

1). The fact that the Americans have a much much harsher punishment for individuals caught doing this kind of thing
2). That the guy has this Asperger's Syndrome.

Sorry but I feel no sympathy for the guy what so ever, far too much is being made of this Asperger's Syndrome and that it in some way completely absolves him of blame for his actions. As for the potential punishment, well the guy needs to be tried in America and you have to hope that the American justice system will take in to account the consequences of his hack, i.e that he didn't really do anything beyond have a poke around in some files.

 

[Mekado]

Also note that is says UP to 60 years, i strongly doubt he'll get even 10, if there's any prison at all...

Edit : Sensationalism for the lose.

 

[A random person]

Hooray for us aspies!
/missingthepoint

But seriously, OP, aspies aren't mentally underdeveloped. As for the actual topic, Amnesiac was right, he should be tried in Britain. Also, 60 years is too harsh, but this is someone who thinks anything beyond 10-15 years is overkill, and even a bit wary then.

 

[Amnestic]

Even with Aspergers, he knew he was breaking the law and therefore should be treated as the criminal he is.
He should be given to the US as frankly the UK judicial system is nothing short of a joke.

Hah, and you think the US is any better? Please.

well the guy needs to be tried in America

Why? Is killing an American during a mugging on British soil also worthy of extradition as it's "attacking America"?

 

[Halfbreed13]

The guy needs help. Trust me. Prison won't help. My brother has mild Autism, and he used to steal shit as a kid all the time. He still has tons of problems, and he only has a mild case. This guy will die in prison, he should get help from a mental institute, not be thrown in jail with murderers.

Even with Aspergers, he knew he was breaking the law and therefore should be treated as the criminal he is.
He should be given to the US as frankly the UK judicial system is nothing short of a joke.

Do you even understand what that is? In a mild case, he has poor impulse control, I don't know the severity of his case, but I assume it isn't mild. He may know that what he is doing is wrong, but Aspergers means he does it anyway because he doesn't proccess thoughts like a normal person. Don't bash the UK system when the US system is just as bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drI1YdbTSx8&feature=channel_page