Gary McKinnon To Be Tried in the US

Published February 28, 2009 @ 08:45AM PT

Gary McKinnon from http://sarahtitan.files.wordpress.com
Gary McKinnon will be extradited to the US where he could face up to 70 years in a maximum security prison and a $1.75 million fine for allegedly hacking into military computers in the U.S. After the events of 9/11, McKinnon is alleged to have alleged to have hacked his way into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the Department of Defense and several branches of the military. Investigators traced the hacks to the email account of McKinnon's girlfriend in 2002. As reported in MXLogic, McKinnon had sought to be tried in the UK, where his alleged crimes were less severe. The Crown Prosecution Service has ruled that it would not prosecute him on the alleged charges of computer misuse; a lack of evidence was cited.

McKinnon was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in August of 2008. The National Autistic Society and more than 80 MPs supported his request to be tried in the UK.

I live in New Jersey. There are memorials to those who died in 9/11 in my town and many towns. I suspect McKinnon's trial will be duly covered here; any mention of anything related to 9/11, homeland security, cyber terrorism, gets a lot of attention.

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Kristina is a Classics professor in Jersey City, New Jersey, a blogger (formerly at AutismVox), a translator (of Virgil), and an advocate every day for her son, Charlie.