The Trials& Tribulations of Gary McKinnon. {Extradition}

[~Vix~]

Okie, I have checked for this type of post via the serach button but found nothing. If i did a failed search and there is a topic... Sorry.

OKie. Gary McKinnon is a British hacker facing extradition to the United States on charges of perpetrating what is claimed by one US prosecutor to be the "biggest military computer hack of all time." Now the real issues arise when you ask people what his people state is when it comes to should he be extradited or not. Gary has admitted the Hacks and has said that he hacked into the FBI/Nasa and other government agencies with the intention of finding evidence which could/would help him prove aliens were real.

More can be found in the following links.
Gary McKInnon Wiki Page.
General Google search of Mr McKInnon


So, extradition, Good or Bad?

[Juliette]

Depends.. did he find anything?




Also.. being evaluated by Doctor Baron-Cohen seems.. sketchy. Is this *real*?

[~Vix~]

haha. Well he has said in interviews that he saw a craft which he belives was of E.T. Origin and that the intel with the file agreed (on a NASA PC). He also says that he saw a file, and he read the file which was named something along the lines of "Non-Human Army Officers" (NASA or NSA.. can't remember)-- it's pretty far out stuff (no pun intended). Look more at the legal side of it, rather than the lil green side of it

[Juliette]

Well.. legally, if he did indeed commit a crime covered under the extradition treaty, then yes.. he should be extradited.


Empathically, I'd say try him in the UK, or not at all. Blank password search? I mean, yes, it is entirely plausible that a bumbling nerd, high on pot obtains access like that. It is one of those crazy things (I can imagine ) one would do while under the influence.

But, and I say this carefully, if he did find something to prove his claims, he should be tried for high treason.

[Rudy Peña]

lol, wow


Extrade him.

[Kit-Fox]

The crime was commited in the UK & therefore the trial should be in the UK under UK laws.

IF the US wants to press it they can, they can bring the evidence to the UK and present it before a fair court.

EDIT: I should point out he would be guilty in this country of accessing a computer system without permission, which is all he did. He isnt some big bad terrorist like some in both govs and medias are trying to make out.

[Juliette]

The crime was commited in the UK & therefore the trial should be in the UK under UK laws.

IF the US wants to press it they can, they can bring the evidence to the UK and present it before a fair court.

EIDT: I should point out he would be guilty in this country of accessing a computer system without permission, which is all he did. He isnt some big bad terrorist like some in both govs and medias are trying to make out.

Good, this indeed.

[[KMA]Avenger]

The crime was commited in the UK & therefore the trial should be in the UK under UK laws.

IF the US wants to press it they can, they can bring the evidence to the UK and present it before a fair court.

EIDT: I should point out he would be guilty in this country of accessing a computer system without permission, which is all he did. He isnt some big bad terrorist like some in both govs and medias are trying to make out.

agreed.

[Kit-Fox]

I am against the extradition as the US seems intent upon incarcerating him for over 50+ years in an effort to make an example out of him to other 'terrorists' and 'enemy combatants'

Except Mckinnon isnt any of those, hes just an idiot. As such he should be sentenced for the crime he did do, which was accessing a computer system without permission. Again becuase of this it should under UK laws as thats where the crime was commited and he'd still be considered guilty.

At least in the UK he stands a better chance of a fair trial, than in the US. Not becuase our system is any fairer than the US but becuase of the stupidity of the US prosecuters & administration in pursuing this when its a pointless exercise

[Phlamingoe]

You can argue that the crime was committed in the US, assuming that's where the servers he hacked were, and that he should be sent here for trial.

[Kit-Fox]

You can argue that the crime was committed in the US, assuming that's where the servers he hacked were, and that he should be sent here for trial.

No you cant becuase he was sitting at a computer in a house inside UK borders, hence the crime was commited in the UK and not in the US.

The crime was commited against the US, but not in the US.

Hence it should be dealt with by the UK according to UK law, if the US wants to press the case they can come here and abide by our laws for a change.

[Phlamingoe]

You can argue that the crime was committed in the US, assuming that's where the servers he hacked were, and that he should be sent here for trial.

No you cant becuase he was sitting at a computer in a house inside UK borders, hence the crime was commited in the UK and not in the US.

The information was stored in US borders, and i believe that means the crime was committed here. Either way he's going to get punished, it doesn't really matter where.

[Kit-Fox]

The information was stored in US borders, and i believe that means the crime was committed here. Either way he's going to get punished, it doesn't really matter where.

It makes not on jot of difference where the damned information was stored, he was within UK borders hence UK laws.

If it was the other way round the US wouldnt allow their citizen to be extradited

And yes it does matter where he is punished, how can you be so stupid as to think it doesnt?? If he is tried in the UK for the only crime he has commited he'll get maybe 5 years (read:3 with good behaviour)

However if he is tried in the US he will be sentenced to 50+ years in jail and be tried as a terrorist. So yes it actually makes a hell of a difference.

EDIT: Just out of interest what would you think if a UK person killed a US person in the UK, or vice-versa??

They should be tried in the country where the crime was commited not the country whose citizen was murdered, the mckinnon case is no different

[Phlamingoe]

It makes not on jot of difference where the damned information was stored, he was within UK borders hence UK laws.

Actually that is the entire case in my eyes. He committed a crime against the United States, and should be tried under those laws.

If it was the other way round the US wouldnt allow their citizen to be extradited

Oh, so it's okay for the UK to keep him just because you think the US would do the same?

The US has extradited a US citizen before, http://vilnius.usembassy.gov/05-27-04.html

As well as, "Since 2004, 46 people have been sent from the UK to the US for trial, and 27 from US to UK" , http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8177561.stm

And yes it does matter where he is punished, how can you be so stupid as to think it doesnt?? If he is tried in the UK for the only crime he has commited he'll get maybe 5 years (read:3 with good behaviour)

However if he is tried in the US he will be sentenced to 50+ years in jail and be tried as a terrorist. So yes it actually makes a hell of a difference.

I don't care as long as he is punished for what he deserves, from my very little research, there are two sides. He says he wanted proof of aliens, well he should be locked in a loony bin if that's the case. If it turns out he really did disrupt the military computer networks, he very well deserves to be tried as a terrorist and receive full punishment.

[Kit-Fox]

Your lack of research shows

He didnt disrupt anything, all he did was run a program that tried default login names with a blank password (ie no password) The 'disruption' was caused by US military administrators too late trying to bolt the stable door after the horse has bolted, oh and btw they failed as blank passwords and default login names are still in use in US military computers connected to the internet even today.

If the military of teh US are stupid enough to connect computers to the internet without passwords and using default login names they are asking for it from much worse people than mckinnon.

He has also been told if he is tried in the US (by the us prosecuters no less btw) he will be tried as a terrorist, using laws designed and passed to combat terrorism. He is anything but a terrorist for god sakes, its blatent bullying (another reason he should be kept in the UK, so he cant be bullied{perhaps that should read tortured} in the US further)

oh any by your logic that the laws of the country the crime was commited agaist should be used would lead to US soldiers getting executed in iraq/iran and elsewhere, you quite happy for that?? Somehow i dont think so.