Should we feed this lad to the septics?

[R1Geezer]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8177561.stm well we have little choice I guess, mischief gone wrong or genuine security threat?

[Gromit]

If you by-pass elaborate security, then you know you are doing wrong. If you cause damage and a lot of work for other people to sort out, a claim of 'I was only messing about' is pretty feeble.

If the bloke had trespassed onto a railway line and broken the signals, causing mayhem and financial loss then he would be prosecuted. Just because this is a cyber crime, does not mean the same principals of law and order do not apply.

However, I do have reservations of sending him to the US because they have an awful human rights record, second only to Saudi Arabia, and are well known for using torture to gain confessions.

[sp1814]

It's both.

It could've been a genuine bit of mischief, and he could've been innocently looking for evidence of US governments hiding secrets about aliens, but in doing that he's opened himself up for prosecution.

An analogy - if someone broke into your house because they suspected you had information about an MP who had murdered a colleague, the intrusion into you house is still a crime, whether or not you actually had the evidence they suspected you were hiding.

Same here...despite his motives, what he is alleged to have done is bang out of order. If he escapes prosecution, it would be sending the wrong message to thousands of hackers around the world.

[jno]

as I recall, they don't hand people over to us, do they? (I might be wrong there.)

[daffy654]

My main issue with this is the fact that the bloke has Asperger's Syndrome.He may have genuinely thought he wasn't doing any harm.

[R1Geezer]

well perhaps they'll give him the job of head of IT security as punishment, after all he knows the way in!

[Gromit]

daffy654

Someone with Asperger syndrome will simply have poor communication skills. It does not affect their ability to tell right from wrong. Very bright people can be diagnosed with it. It does not diminish a persons responsibility for what they do.

[sp1814]

jno

From the BBC website:

US-UK EXTRADITION TREATY

The 2003 treaty was agreed in aftermath of 9/11 attacks:

- Offence must be punishable by one year or more in jail in both countries
- US has to prove "reasonable suspicion" for extradition of a British citizen
- To extradite an American from the US, British must prove "probable cause"
- Since 2004, 56 people have been sent from the UK to the US for trial, and 26 for US to UK
- US courts have granted about 70% of UK extradition requests, while nearly 90% of US requests have been granted

[daffy654]

Gromit,I have an 11 year old son with Asperger's Syndrome,there is nothing you can tell me about the condition that I don't already know.
He may have known that what he did was wrong in the sense you mean,but not considered the consequences of his actions.
I know it doesn't excuse what he did (and he should be prosecuted) but I think it does need to be taken into consideration in any proceedings against him.

[Gromit]

daffy654

Certainly it should be taken into consideration. I have looked in more detail at the conditions of Asperger's and see nothing which would excuse what he did.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/autism2 .shtml

[craft1948]

I think the DM has it right.......ask if we can keep him and we'll give them Abu Hamza.....

[youngmafbog]

Hand him over, probably some pinko anrti septic.

Let him, and others, learn the consequence of their actions.

[daffy654]

His appeal against extradition has failed.I hope he gets a decent lawyer over there,he's going to need one.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8177561.stm

[jno]

thanks, sp1814. So they seem to want a lot more people from us than we want from them, and we give them a lot more of the ones they ask for. Special relationship or what.

[LeMarchand]

Interesting the way his lawyer has worded her statement (my emphasis):

Why aren't they stopping the extradition of a man who is clearly vulnerable and who on the accepted evidence suffers from Asperger's?

Surely most would have omitted the phrase I highlighted in bold?

[jno]

LeMarchand - given that she's a lawyer and the case has just been heard, I imagine that means 'the court has agreed that he has Asperger's'. Some might otherwise suggest that he's been shamming.

[LeMarchand]

jno - exactly my point: the way she has worded her statement makes it sounds as if the court has had to be convinced the guy has Aspergers, which immediately suggests to me that there could be doubt over that. (Though obviously not currently in the eyes of the legal system). We must all have heard of people on benefits due to "back problems" that only seem to affect their ability to do a day's graft (unless it's cash in hand).

Mind you, I could just be ultra-cynical.

[kinell]

this says more about the us security systems and the ar$� covering they are engaging in,

so someone on a pc world computer can get access into the systems of the most powerful country in the world?

it doesnt excuse the deed but it does mitigate the seriousness,

if you walk up the middle of the road in the dark and a drunk driver hits you then its not all his fault,

the us spends trillions on defense and cant stop this hacker, i reckon they should give him a job! if you can get in then you must have a good idea how to keep others out.