The British UFO enthusiast and computer hacker Gary McKinnon lost his latest legal battle yesterday to avoid being extradited to the United States, where he faces up to six decades in a maximum security jail.

 

American prosecutors accuse Mr McKinnon of perpetrating the "biggest military hack of all time" and have vowed to imprison him for breaking into 97 government computers shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks.

 

His supporters say he never meant to cause any damage and was simply looking for evidence of extraterrestrial life, a hobby which had turned into an obsession because he suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. They believe he will be a suicide risk if sent to an American prison.

 

The 43-year-old self-confessed hacker from Wood Green, north London, had gone to the High Court to challenge the decision by successive Home Secretaries, which permitted his extradition to go ahead, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for refusing to try him in Britain instead of the US.

 

But yesterday Lord Justice Stanley Burnton and Mr Justice Wilkie dismissed those claims and said his extradition across the Atlantic would be "a lawful and proportionate response". The High Court also backed Keir Starmer QC, the DPP, who has refused to try Mr McKinnon in Britain – an act that would save him from extradition.

 

Outside the High Court yesterday, Mr McKinnon's mother, Janis, said the decision was "heartbreaking" and called on the US President Barack Obama to intervene in her son's case. Directly addressing Mr Obama, she said: "Stand by us and make this world a better place, a more compassionate place.

 

"Obama wouldn't have wanted this. He doesn't want the first person extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger's, a UFO guy. I'm just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing."

 

Speaking after the judgment, the Home Secretary Alan Johnson made it clear that, like his predecessors, he had no plans to stop Mr McKinnon's extradition. "Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes and the US has a lawful right to seek his extradition, as we do when we wish to prosecute people who break our laws," he said.

 

The Home Secretary's words were in direct contrast to those of the Conservative Party leader David Cameron, who has come out in support of Mr McKinnon and called on the extradition treaty between the US and Britain to be reviewed. "Gary McKinnon is a vulnerable young man and I see no compassion in sending him thousands of miles away from his home and loved ones to face trial," he said. "If he has questions to answer, there is a clear argument to be made that he should answer to them in a British court."

 

Mr McKinnon will not, however, be handed over to US officials just yet. Yesterday his solicitor Karen Todner confirmed she would be appealing to the newly created Supreme Court and was willing to take her client's fight as far as the European Court of Human Rights.

 

She also accused the Government of doing little to ensure that Mr McKinnon would be given bail while awaiting trial, something the Government fought for during the extradition of the so-called NatWest Three – a trio of British businessmen who were indicted for wire fraud during the Enron scandal. As their extradition loomed, the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair said he would try to persuade the Americans to grant them bail until the trial. "In the NatWest Three case the Attorney General flew to America to obtain assurances of bail for them," said Miss Todner. "No such actions have taken place for Gary, nor has he been promised repatriation immediately upon sentence."

 

If Mr McKinnon is sent to the US, prosecutors have indicated he is likely to be held in a "Supermax" prison, usually used for high-risk and violent inmates, because he is considered a flight risk.

 

Source: Independent on Sunday

 

Do you think this guy is a terrorist risk for hacking into US government computers, or is he a poor (but clever) UFO fanatic?

 

To me the USA should be using his skills to upgrade their firewalls, as he got right past them.

So, the Govt will fight to the hilt for a bunch of Fraudsters - ie, the Natwest Three, who very clearly and very calculatedly involved in one of the worst financial scandals of all time - the Enron affair - and will do absolutely nothing for a guy with Asperger's who cant help himself ....? Well, that just about sums up everything you need to know about 'Nu Labor' in a nutshell, protect the rich and corrupt and fukk the poor and mentally challenged.... <_<

 

While I have no sympathy for hackers on any level, he should probably be charged in this country and his mental situation taken into account.

As someone said before. If he's that bloomin' good, NASA should be employing him, not prosecuting him. :blink:

As someone said before. If he's that bloomin' good, NASA should be employing him, not prosecuting him. :blink:

 

Yeah, exactly.... Give the guy an actual job and something to focus his abilities...

 

I think him and his family are just a little desperate as a result from the overwhelming action that's being taken on him. Should he not be hospitalized instead of going to a special prison? That's pretty harsh. .

Especially for someone who has a mental disorder and was irrational during the crime, he did break the law and I suppose he should have to suffer the consequences but honestly my heart goes out to these people. . How critical the outside world is on them, especially the law, and as if they're remaining completely ignorant to his mental state and circumstances. Clearly he was not being medically monitored properly and was unable to take responsibily for his actions before the hacking so medical supervision and/or rehabilitation of some sort would be a much better solution. With his syndrome a position at NASA would be completely out of the question I'd think. . :lol:

He is clearly an exceptionally intelligent man and knew what he was doing so I don't think his "condition" should make him above the law, sure he didn't stab anyone or shoot anyone but he still broke a law

 

If this had been a teenage chav from a tower block would there be the same sympathy ? course not

 

Laws are laws, but he should be tried and sentenced in the UK

Whilst Aspergers is a form of Autism - it is does not make the person "mentally challenged" or in need of "medical supervision" or "hospitalisation"

 

Aspergers is also NOT a barrier from holding down a job!

 

I think the US should be looking at using his skills to advance their security, rather than make big bully boy noises about "examples"

 

I also think I government should acknowledge that any crimes committed were committed in this country, and so should be investigated, prosecuted and punished in this country.

Whilst Aspergers is a form of Autism - it is does not make the person "mentally challenged" or in need of "medical supervision" or "hospitalisation"

 

 

Asperger's sufferers are classed as "High functioning Autistics"... So, in a normal setting they'd be fine, yes, they can hold down a job, but you put them in a Supermax prison, which is quite a terrible regime, with people being in lockdown for about 23 hours per day, then one has to wonder how well someone with Aspergers or Autism would function in that environment.... It's an unfit environment for a person with any kind of mental condition....

 

Asperger's sufferers are classed as "High functioning Autistics"... So, in a normal setting they'd be fine, yes, they can hold down a job, but you put them in a Supermax prison, which is quite a terrible regime, with people being in lockdown for about 23 hours per day, then one has to wonder how well someone with Aspergers or Autism would function in that environment.... It's an unfit environment for a person with any kind of mental condition....

 

to be fair I wouldn't function in that environment, nor do I know many "normal" people who would.