Hacking is wrong, but abuse of process is wronger ...

["Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <rMslade () shaw ca>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/uk_news/7456216.stm  

"Lawyers for Glasgow-born Gary McKinnon told the House of Lords US 
authorities had warned him he faced a long jail sentence if he did not plead guilty.

"The systems analyst is accused of gaining access to 97 US military and Nasa 
computers from his London home.

"Known as Solo, he was arrested in 2002 but never charged in the UK."

So far, so bad.  Breaking into computers has very little justification, and "just 
having fun" isn't exactly a defence.  However:

"Without co-operation, the case could be treated as a terrorism case, which could 
result in up to a 60-year sentence in a maximum security prison should he be 
found guilty on all six indictments.

"With co-operation, he would receive a lesser sentence of 37 to 46 months, be 
repatriated to the UK, where he could be released on parole and charges of 
`significantly damaging national security' would be dropped.

"A US embassy legal official quoted New Jersey authorities saying they wanted to 
see him `fry'."

This bothers me.  A lot.  It's too much like security theatre, as well as being flat-
out immoral.  He did something wrong: he should be punished.  But he should be 
convicted properly, and punished appropriately, not intimidated into pleading 
guilty in order to inflate someone's prosecution records.

(Geez, maybe I should just keep my mouth shut: 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/technology/7456357.stm )

======================  (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
rslade () vcn bc ca     slade () victoria tc ca     rslade () computercrime org
Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
                                                 - Dwight Eisenhower
http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.htm
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