Gary McKinnon saved from extradition to US on hacking charges, they must be real upset that they can't lock him up on remand for years while they try and get over the massive embarrassment he caused them by hacking their virtually unsecured networks. They should thank him, if it was now and they got hacked by a hostile foreign country as is happening on a regular basis their networks would probably have been destroyed.
It's astonishing that Theresa May is getting heaps of praise for doing something she should have done two years ago, or that her predecessor should have done long before that.
Right result? Why is this a right result? He admitted to the crime and Aspergers, to my understanding, does not effect his ability to reason and make decisions? He knowingly performed a legal act and he should be punished for it imo.
Yes, and he will be. He's going to be tried in an English court. But, the Americans will likely dish out 60 years imprisonment, which is clearly over the top.
Sorry I still do not get why that is an issue? I've had a read of the BBC news site and the reason for not extraditing him is he might commit suicide. Every one going to prison faces that risk. From the same article. I have to agree. It sounds like double standards.
Gary McKinnon was obsessed with finding martians, not inciting racial hatred. His crime did nothing more than embarrass the USA for having networks that my little sister could have gained access to with just a few words of encouragement. He wasn't endangering anyone, he wasn't on a destructive course, he just wanted to find out about martians - I think if you knew no knowledge of either crimes you might be able to conclude its double standards, but I really don't think it is. Really, he should be praised as a white hat and given gratitude and credit for finding the exploits.
I think the concerns are about due process. Just like Abu Qatada was not extradited to Jordan because there was concern that he would not be subjected to a fair trial, McKinnon should not be extradited because there is doubt that the US would give him a fair trial. The US' attorney's petulant reaction notwithstanding, the US does have Guantanamo Bay, and it has legalised torture. The fairness of its legal system is, as such, open to doubt, and I think that sending that message to the US is more important than meting out more punishment to a disturbed man than he has already experienced.
This exactly. I do not have much to say about Gary McKinnon but I would welcome it if all extradition to the US from EU were stopped on grounds of human rights violations, the US seem to be able to get away with just about everything and completely ignore both the human rights and seemingly their own "ground principles" "Freedom and justice for all." That is unless you are Mexican, middle eastern, Socialist, someone the state deems dangerous or simply not American.
Or follow those above you blindly cause questioning your "betters" ie. those with money because it is your patriotic duty! Problem is one persons human rights infringe on others. Often crime goes unpunished because the criminal's human rights are put before anything else. The cynic in me feels human rights is just a loophole just to save the effort of having to do anything.
I think the concerns are about double standards, racism and scoring political points against the opposition. If Theresa May were so concerned about the fairness of the US legal system, about potential torture, about the welfare of people with Asperger's syndrome, she wouldn't have approved the extradition of Syed Talha Ahsan just two weeks ago. If Gary McKinnon had gone to the US voluntarily without fighting the extradition, he'd have been back already. The prosecutors offered him a deal of 3-4 years in prison if he went voluntarily but he's been fighting extradition for 10 years now. Since he's admitted the crimes, since the US has promised that it has facilities to take care of him, to cope with his condition, that he wouldn't be sent to Guantanamo Bay, I don't see what possible reason there is not to allow his extradition.
Well. His being tried for a crime he committed is the right result, in a safe environment, which, with his very specific learning difficulties, is very important. Justice is important, but must be meted out in an appropriate fashion!
Wording fail. You mean illegal act. Yes, it was illegal. It was also incredibly embarrassing for two major government organisations in the USA and forced them to drastically tighten the security on their computer systems. He did it to prove a point and admitted to it, and I don't think there should ever have been any chance of him being extradited to America. In my opinion, he did them a favour. I'm happy for him, now he can get on with the rest of his life and hopefully not have this uncertainty hanging over him as it has been for the past 10 years.
I really don't understand your point of view. He did an illegal act, he admits doing it, why shouldn't he be extradited for it? He claims that he was looking for evidence of UFOs, anti-gravity technology, etc. - how is this proving a point? He deleted files and even left a message saying "US foreign policy is akin to Government-sponsored terrorism these days … It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand down on September 11 last year … I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels …" That's not the actions of someone trying to prove a point, that's criminal damage.
I'm sure that Theresa May's decision was motivated by pure political interest and full of double standards. I'm talking about the concerns that some members and I share about this case. First, even 3-4 years in a 'supermax' prison is no picnic for even hardened criminals. McKinnon would be dead within the year. Second there is a difference between hacking government computers looking for UFO's and leaving some juvenile rebellious messages, and hosting a website inciting to terrorism and supporting the Taliban et al. by releasing classified military material. Third, I do not necessarily support the extradition of Syed Talha Ahsan either, but just because he was sent does not mean Gary McKinnon should be. Two wrongs don't make a right.
