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

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.