You CAN save Gary McKinnon - British Home Secretary is told

Here is the latest twist in the Gary McKinnon case - finally, a positive sign of hope.

You CAN save Gary McKinnon: MPs' bombshell letter explodes Home Secretary's claim that law makes him powerless to halt extradition

By James Slack and Michael Seamark
Last updated at 2:24 AM on 13th November 2009

Alan Johnson was last night told by a powerful group of MPs that he can and must halt the extradition of Gary McKinnon. In a devastating letter, the Home Affairs Select Committee flatly rejected Mr Johnson's claim that he is powerless to intervene. Gary, who has Asperger's syndrome and is said to be suicidal, is due to be handed over to the U.S. under the controversial Extradition Act. There he faces up to 60 years in jail for hacking into Pentagon and Nasa computers while searching for proof of alien life...

See Article for full story: Daily Mail

reply to post by Venetian


I think he should be extradited so he can be brought to the USA and receive punishment for his crimes. Somehow I think all of his medical problems would magically disappear if he were to be set free from his consequences. He is faking!

reply to post by HotSauce Suprise surprise, HotSauce. You get FOE.
You cant fake autism. It'll be in his medical records or at least the indications, going back decades.

reply to post by Bunken Drum


He allegedly has Asspergers syndrome and I never heard of him having it until they were going to ship him over here for a little discipline for his bad behavior.

Thanks for foeing me!

I would hardly consider 60 years a little discipline! If it was up to me, I would give him a medal, a new computer with faster internet speed and his own talk show. If the US government and NASA would be a little more truthful and forthcoming about what they know, then people wouldn't have to go to these extremes

reply to post by spacecase7717


Oh so now Gary is the victim? He broke into a bunch of US government computers and now he is the poor, innocent victim? Hardly.

He will get the same punishment that I would get if I did what he did. Seems fair to me.

The guy is a complete idiot and the US is just picking on an easy target. There's no way he did the amount of damage they are claiming. He didn't break into anything, he simply walked in through an open door. He accessed windows systems that had no password set on them using an off the shelf application. He was using a 56k modem for gods sake.

The US is totally over stepping the mark here. It doesn't make any sense that they are coming down on him so hard. Maybe taking him to court and giving him a large sentence ( to scare other people into not trying it ) is cheaper than updating the security on their systems?


[edit on 13-11-2009 by VitalOverdose]

Originally posted by HotSauce reply to post by Bunken Drum

 

He allegedly has Asspergers syndrome and I never heard of him having it until they were going to ship him over here for a little discipline for his bad behavior. Thanks for foeing me!

Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder, and people with it therefore show significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development.

(My emphasis)
en.wikipedia.org...
Had you ever heard of the man at all before his arrest?
You're welcome.

I'm satisfied it's being said America cannot simply extradite McKinnon at will in the way they intended. Not only am I supportive of McKinnon, I support not being able to extradite U.K. citizens in such a manner — especially considering such a reciprocal arrangement of being able to summon and place US citizens in front of British courts isn't on the books.

Just read about this latest update and it's good news.

It's about time that those with the responsibility understand what they are truly dealing with. Gary should and will non get extradited imo.

I just hope this all gets sorted out quickly because every day it doesn't is another day of mental and emotional anguish for this poor chap.

I am one on those who believes that yes, he did wrong, but the punishment should fit the crime and years and years of suffering while lawyers, politicians and others bully and defend his case has obviously taken a severe toll. Anyone who just says "he should be extradited" or "he's a criminal" should actually read a bit about this case before bleating a unwarrented response.

Seems some folks are never happy untill someone has been punished to maximum effect to satisfy their vindictive nature.

We are all criminals at the end of the day, quyestion is...how bad was the crime?

Gary didn't bomb anyone, shoot anyone, or even steal anything and yet there are some who chastise him no end.

If it was the other way round and it was an American facing extradition, he would have already been excused and would probably be working for the CIA on a big fat salary and a pat on the back.

British politicians suck! Lazy, overpaid puppets most of them. Only when pushed with facts and overwhelming opinion do they actually do the right thing.

GOOD LUCK GARY. Can't wait to read your posts on ATS.

Originally posted by Bunken Drum
reply to post by HotSauce

 

Suprise surprise, HotSauce. You get FOE.
You cant fake autism. It'll be in his medical records or at least the indications, going back decades.

We'll keep you on your toes eh noob..lol.

I won't "foe" you just yet "HotSauce"... I think your posts will be interesting.

reply to post by HotSauce


I never said he was a victim. I just think the US should take this as a lesson learned "no harm,no foul". The US should take the millions of dollars that they were going to spend on this case and use it for a better security system. I say better lightly because obviously they didn't have one to begin with.

Wow some of you Yanks are like vultures aren't you?

You want to punish a curious man with problems?

Why don't you concentrate on your own problems and leave this man alone.

Sick sick people.

reply to post by mr-lizard


I agree, all he did in the end of the day was show up their pathetic security. He did them a favour really. And if he is to be punished, it should be in a british jail anyway.
Who do the yanks think they are diplomatically bullying us so they can get revenge on mentally challenged individual? Some times i think this so called "special relationship" goes only one way=Americas... We need a PM who will tell them where to go, and put our nations interests first!

I think the man deserves an incredible apology...immediatey followed by a huge Thank You.

He did them a favor and his intent was not malicious.

I'm ashamed of my countrymen...

reply to post by MemoryShock


Im sorry for my vitriol, im not anti american, its just that this subject is emotive for me. My cousin is aspergers, and even though she seems normal when you first meet her, it soon becomes apparant that she is not. She has to be treated with kid gloves, has problems forming friendships and does not interact socially. She is also very rigid in her thought process, and their is no flexibility in her beliefs. I can see how a prison sentence would affect that guy, he would be dead in a month. And besides, he meant no harm, like us all on ATS he was trying proactivly to get to the truth, and did NASA a favour by exposing lapse security.

[edit on 023030p://f22Friday by Selahobed]

double posting

sorry

[edit on 023030p://f21Friday by Selahobed]

reply to post by Selahobed

I took no offense and see nothing for you to apologize for...

I agree that 60 years in prison is too much for this guy; he doesn't deserve it. He deserves a job offer. And a better computer.

reply to post by Venetian

You CAN save Gary McKinnon

Nothing personal agsint Mr. McKinnon but... I have no sympathy for hackers. I had my identity stolen along with my bank account a few years ago. My name turned up on over 56 different credit accounts in three countries besides my own.

My sin? Some loophole in security... some failure of the firewall...

The hacker remains at large... as hacking is often looked at as a prank and not considered a crime in many places.

No sympathy. The victim is not the criminal and the criminal not the victim. It's BS despite the political facade.

Laws are laws. If we just casually dismiss them to make us feel all warm and tingly inside, where do we go from there. Where does it end? I don't buy the bleeding heart crap routine, there's too much of that in today's world. People need to be held accountable for their own actions and, ultimately, pay the price. The 60 year figure I would agree is a tad steep but he should serve time. Maybe he should have spent his time brushing up on a resume instead of meddling in the affairs of another country. Food for thought.

Throw the book at him, just not a phone book.

brill