Terrorist or Hacker?: The Case of Gary McKinnon, Again

category: Legal

Published July 05, 2009 @ 02:33AM PT

Gary McKinnon from http://sarahtitan.files.wordpress.com Gary McKinnon is the 43 year old British man who faces extradition to the US on charges of hacking into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the Department of Defense and several branches of the military after the events of 9/11.

If extradited to the US, McKinnon faces a trial of eight counts of computer fraud. He could potentially serve 60 years in jail in New Jersey and pay a $250,000 fine. McKinnon has been fighting his extradition, in the hopes that, if he remains in the UK, he might receive a lighter sentence. In August of 2008, he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Experts including Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre have stated that extraditing and imprisoning McKinnon in the US will "exacerbate his autism, leading to psychosis and even suicide."

A July 3rd Daily Mail interview with McKinnon and his mother, Janis Sharp, makes a strong case for keeping him in his own country. McKinnon was arrested in March of 2002 by the UK's High-Tech Crime Unit and "confessed to everything," without asking for a lawyer.

Janis is the first to admit her son has done wrong. 'I think he was incredibly stupid and he should be tried in a British court for his crimes,' she says.

She also believes that Gary unwittingly did the Americans a good turn. 'What if a real terrorist had got into those military systems? What if Gary hadn't alerted them? To be honest, I think the people who were in charge of security should be arrested, not Gary.'

What no one could have foreseen was that Gary would become a casualty of the controversial 2005 UK-U.S. extradition treaty. Signed by David Blunkett, the treaty was, quite outrageously, never debated in Parliament.

Under the terms, American prosecutors do not have to show any evidence to get the UK to hand over one of its people. Americans who Britain wants to extradite get far more protection from their government.

While McKinnon's Asperger diagnosis is recent, his mother notes that he was

.....talking by ten months. Aged two, he liked to have conversations about the stars and the planets. When he was eight, Janis came home to find Gary playing the Moonlight Sonata. He had taught himself the piano while she was out.

Gary was always fanatical about order and being logical. If there were mushrooms for tea, he would cut each one into 12 (he still does). But he was expelled from junior school because he would wander home whenever he felt like it.

In a normal household, Gary's behaviour would have rung alarm bells. In the Sharps' easy-going setup, he was just accepted.

'He had so many good qualities - gentle, kind and sort of innocent,' Janis says. 'Neighbours thought he was wonderful because he'd carry old ladies' shopping.'

(In case you think his mother's faith in his innocence is misplaced, the police who took away Gary's computer said it was the only one they had ever confiscated that didn't contain pornography.)

I have to say, that detail about McKinnon being expelled from school because he "would wander home whenever he felt like it" strikes a resonant chord in me. There's no way that Charlie could wander out of his middle school---there is always an aide with him---but adolescence being the tough time it has been for him, I have a feeling there are times when he might wish he could just wander rather than being cooped up in a classroom. The main thing that comes through in the Daily Mail interview (granted it is a paper like the Daily Mail) is Janis Sharp's unwavering support and love for her son, now and throughout his life.

The Daily Mail has indeed launched a campaign in support of McKinnon; details here.

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Comments (6)

If he understands right from wrong he is able to stand trial for his crimes in the USA.

ASAN and it's ilk keep claiming that "AUTISTICS" should be treated without discrimination. Yet to turn around and use the diagnosis as an excuse to advoid trial "but sir I didn't know any better." allows for that discrimination to continue. It allows goverments to make laws that in their POV protects those with autism but may seriously curtail the independance of autistics that would never go against societies laws.

So.... those with autism - like ASAN and the ND crowd - have to decide... is Autism a mental illness or a difference. A mental illness he can get off from being charged but will probably have to go into protected care and you run the risk of the US gov't changing disability rules back to the dark ages. A difference and he is returned to the US for trial and those with the "difference" realize the "do the crime, they do the time".

Posted by Fw2 farmwifetwo on 07/05/2009 @ 05:06AM PT
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Could you please show me where ASAN has commented on the McKinnon case? Because it hasn't. Please stop assuming that ASAN moves in lockstep with everyone whom you consider to be "ND." We have differences of opinion!

And, BTW, no one considers autism a "mental illness." Nor is being diagnosed with a "mental illness" (or neurological condition, whatever) automatic grounds for receiving different treatment in a court of law. This is a common misconception, but it's actually quite difficult to get a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict in the US. It is not SOP for disabled people to receive "special treatment" in court.

My own opinion on this case is that, AS diagnosis aside, McKinnon is certainly the victim of some crappy laws. He's clearly not a terrorist, and I would say the same for any non-autistic person who committed the same crime under the same circumstances. No, he shouldn't get off completely (probably), but ironclad laws which mandate a particular procedure and sentance are just stupid. Courts should be permitted to exercise some discretion in cases like these.

So, I think there's a good case to be made that he is being treated unfairly WITHOUT bringing autism into it. Please, please do not assume that all of us evil "NDs" share a single mind.

Posted by Sarah Ross on 07/05/2009 @ 11:08AM PT
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It never fails to amaze me how stupid our government is. Here we have a brilliant man who could help our government protect the national security. Instead they are trying to crucify him because he showed them their own inadequacies.How many times have the Chinese now broken into the Pentagon computers? Cyberterrorism is a real threat to our nation and instead of getting the help we need we want to put this man in prison!

This has nothing to do with his aspergers. Even though I think it is something to keep in mind. Again it is the lack of intelligence in the American intelligence community.

Posted by Elise Butowsky on 07/05/2009 @ 06:02AM PT
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I hadn't realized there was a double standard in the extradition processes between the two countries. Now I understand this controversy a lot better.

Posted by Anemone Cerridwen on 07/05/2009 @ 08:28AM PT
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I for one would feel safer If this guy worked for our government shower us our flaws.

Posted by jan Lightfootlane on 07/05/2009 @ 09:34AM PT
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http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/03/pop-superstar-s/

According to wired, he already turned down a much lighter sentence. He also sent things like the following:

"U.S. 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."

Note: Wired typically backs 'hackers' (which really isn't the proper term. The proper term for illegal or nefarious hacking is 'cracking' but whatever). It's interesting they aren't supporting him at this point.

Supposedly some systems were crashed as well. Being in the technical support at a University, perhaps I understand a bit better than the average layperson.

Unfortunately, whether or not your mental or neurological condition contributed to your crime does not matter in the US, unless your mental or neurological condition is severe, and you are unable to stand trial.

The ability to blame a crime on a condition is a double edged sword. While the condition may contribute, this is not the case for most people with the condition, but most people with the condition get ostracized and prejudized against because of the few that commit crimes. Unfortunately the public appears incapable of saying Condition X causes person A to do bad things but just causes person B to act different than most people.

And people who are out to help us secure our technology don't leave us threatening messages. They typically go look, I found a hole, please fix it. and then get prosecuted anyway.

Posted by Navidad Arnett on 07/05/2009 @ 10:08AM PT
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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.