McKinnon extradition halted

**bb1** Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:42 pm

http://news.sky.com/story/998312/gary-mckinnon-may-blocks-extradition-to-us

Gary McKinnon: May Blocks Extradition To US

The self-confessed computer hacker cannot be sent to the US because of fears for his health, the Home Secretary announces.

Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the US to face trial for computer hacking, according to Sky sources.

The decision means Mr McKinnon has won a 10-year battle against extradition to the US, where he faced trial for the "biggest military computer hack of all time".

Home Secretary Theresa May is about to tell the Commons that the 46-year-old will not be sent to the US because of his health.

Mr McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome - a high-functioning form of autism, admits hacking into US military computers but claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs.

He could have faced up to 60 years in prison in America if convicted.

Mrs May is taking the highly unusual step of blocking the application after Home Office medical evidence found he was very likely to try to kill himself if he was extradited.

More to follow...

**Sabot** Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:34 pm

You beat me to it, Bonny.

And I should bloody well think so too. Although I am not at all happy about the Ten Years it has taken for Britain to defend the Yuman Rights of a mentally handicapped boy.
This is the beginning of the end to answering to any Country that thinks it can make any daft demand to overthrow Britain's already adequate Laws.

And if Britain puts him on trial they will just look as stupid.

Someone with brains should employ him, but perhaps they have already thought of this.

**greenink211** Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:02 pm

Sabot wrote:
You beat me to it, Bonny.

And I should bloody well think so too. Although I am not at all happy about the Ten Years it has taken for Britain to defend the Yuman Rights of a mentally handicapped boy.
This is the beginning of the end to answering to any Country that thinks it can make any daft demand to overthrow Britain's already adequate Laws.

And if Britain puts him on trial they will just look as stupid.

Someone with brains should employ him, but perhaps they have already thought of this.

I think it is a bit strange to call McKinnon a "boy". He spent a whole year aged 35-6 hacking US goverment computers while living off benefits as an unemployed computer programmer. He wasn't showing any inability to understand the nature of his activities back in 2001. He chose not to do the hacking from home or even from his girlfriend's home but did it when visiting his girlfriend's aunt. He is now 46 years old. Not really a boy then or now. And I don't think any of the reports I have read claim he has the mental age of a child.

Also I think his defence to have been seeking UFO information is rather strange considering that one of the claims made about him in court is that after deleting files and over 1000 user accounts deliberately, he left a note on a US Army computer saying, "It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand-down on September 11 last year ... I am SOLO [the name by which he was known online]. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels," How is continuing to disrupt supposed to tie in with the reason he now gives for having hacked a whole series of military establishments?

I don't think anyone should attempt to excuse what he did. He committed serious crimes (he has admitted the hacking). Now that he is not to be extradited to the US I hope he is charged and dealt with in this country for those crimes and dealt with accordingly. If that doesn't happen then basically he has got away with a serious crime and I think that would be wrong. Employing every malicious hacker would be madness. They are not malicious out of a love of the state.

I agree that ten years is a disgraceful period for the decision and hope that the reforms announced will reduce this to a maximum of 12 months.

**bb1** Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:18 pm

I must confess, I hadn't taken in that he is now in his forties - not exactly a script kiddie.

Pragmatically, a better solution would have been for the CIA, etc., to EMPLOY him, doing nothing all day but try to break into them. His bizarre talent would be better put to good use, by any number of companies and organisations.

**greenink211** Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:41 pm

bb1 wrote:I must confess, I hadn't taken in that he is now in his forties - not exactly a script kiddie.

Pragmatically, a better solution would have been for the CIA, etc., to EMPLOY him, doing nothing all day but try to break into them. His bizarre talent would be better put to good use, by any number of companies and organisations.

But there is no way that the CIA could ever trust him. Even McDonalds don't employ people they can't trust so I can't see the CIA doing it. Nor could any other organisation trust him with access to key computers. His action was not simply to obtain information. He was apparently being disruptive for no obvious reason other than that he enjoyed being disruptive or was bored.

**Lamplighter** Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:20 pm

US criticises McKinnon decision
Press Association – 12 hours ago

Gary McKinnon won his 10-year battle against extradition to the United States on …
Home Secretary Theresa May's decision to block the extradition of computer hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States has been criticised by the US government.
The US Department of Justice said it was "disappointed" by Mrs May's use of the Human Rights Act to halt the process but added that the "extradition relationship" between the two countries remained strong.
Mr McKinnon was accused by US prosecutors of "the biggest military computer hack of all time", but he claims he was simply looking for evidence of UFOs. It will now be for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer QC to decide whether Mr McKinnon should face charges in the UK.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Justice said: "The United States is disappointed by the UK Home Secretary's decision not to extradite Gary McKinnon, particularly given the past decisions of the UK courts and prior Home Secretaries that he should face trial in the United States.
"We note that the Home Secretary has described this case as exceptional and, thus, this decision does not set a precedent for future cases."
Mrs May stopped Mr McKinnon's extradition on human rights grounds after medical reports showed the 46-year-old was very likely to try to kill himself if extradited.
"After careful consideration of all of the relevant material, I have concluded that Mr McKinnon's extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon's human rights," she told MPs.
A so-called forum bar will also be introduced to extradition proceedings to enable British courts to decide whether a person should stand trial in the UK or abroad, Mrs May added.
Mr McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, described the decision as "life-saving" and added that she had been overwhelmed by the emotional rollercoaster of the 10-year fight against extradition.
She said: "I want to say thank you to Theresa May because it was an incredibly brave decision - to stand up to another nation as strong and powerful as America is rare and she had the guts to do it."

Inevitable reaction, I suppose. LL

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