The Case of Gary McKinnon

After the events of 9/11 in the US, a 42-year-old British man named Gary McKinnon is 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.

If extradited to the US, McKinnon faces a trial of eight counts of computer fraud. He could potentially serve 10 years in jail and pay a $250,000 fine. It has been reported that McKinnon might receive a lighter sentence. A number of legal attempts have been made to appeal the extradition order. As reported today in the Associated Press (via TheNewsTribune.com), McKinnon has "signed a statement admitting an offense under Britain's Computer Misuse Act," in order to avoid extradition to the US and to be tried instead in Britain.

In August of 2008, it was reported that McKinnon had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; his mother, Janis Sharp, defends her son in an interview in today's Times Online. The Telegraph reports that he has "won support from the National Autistic Society (NAS) and more than 80 MPs in his battle to stay in the UK."

This is from a September 8th media response on the NAS' website:

Generally speaking, people with autism in the criminal justice system can be particularly vulnerable as the nature of their difficulties may not be recognised or may be misunderstood. It is therefore vital that legal experts are familiar with autism and its complexities.
The NAS has produced a range of information materials for criminal justice professionals to help them understand and respond to the needs of people with autism, including Asperger syndrome.

The NAS site also has a guide for criminal justice professionals and further states:

The vast majority of individuals with autism are law abiding and respect the rules of society. On occasions when a person with autism comes to the attention of the police and other services it is normally a result of their social and communication difficulties being misunderstood and because they are not given appropriate support.

An additional NAS article outlines the rights of indivduals with disabilities when they are in prison. And the Criminal Justice blog here at Change.org has a recent post on those with mental health diagnoses and the US criminal justice system. Autism is a developmental disability not a mental illness, yet some of the same concerns are applicable. The Criminal Justice post ends with this statement, which, I think, needs to be taken into account in considering the case of Gary McKinnon:

A great article that was published in the New York Times Magazine back in 1999 reveals the various ways that American civil society has failed to include individuals with mental illness. These failings, rather than the individuals with mental illness, bear a large portion of the responsibility for any dangerous behavior. Once we recognize the social nature of disability the goal becomes to change the institutions and social practices that marginalize disabled individuals and prohibit them from participating in society.

Just to repeat, with my emphases in italics: "Once we recognize the social nature of disability the goal becomes to change the institutions and social practices that marginalize disabled individuals and prohibit them from participating in society."

I recently asked a professor of Criminal Justice what he taught his students about autism. He shook his head and mentioned psychiatric facilities and mental health---I noted, autism and Asperger's are, again, not mental illnesses---little else was said. And perhaps the case of Gary McKinnon can bring these issues into better focus and lead, ultimately, to individuals with disabilities receiving the consideration they truly need from the criminal justice system.

Image by kimberlyfaye(away)