Re: Hacker, yes. Extradite, no
I've got a shitty lock on my front door, does that mean it's my own fault I got it kicked in and someone defaced my house? Perhaps
Does taht mean the people who did it get away with no punishment? Nope
The Home Secretary is expected to announce whether or not the government will block Gary McKinnon's US extradition in Parliament today. Theresa May is due to deliver a decision on whether the Scottish sysadmin's medical problems as an Asperger's Syndrome sufferer are sufficiently severe to block extradition. A possible appeal …
I personally hope he doesn't get extradited because he committed a crime in the UK so deserves to be tried here using UK laws. However saying that all this can't be extradited from health reasons we have heard from him and in the case of the hook handed sub-human are just ridiculous. If you commit a crime you deserve the consequences.
The politicians and police and security forces asked for all these powers due to 'terrorism', parliament drafted in no protections whatsoever against abuse (i.e. must be clear evidence of terrorist link) and then sat by and watched as the new powers were abused by all who had them to spy on and harass the public. You cannot take a picture in the street without some copper demanding your camera.
I doubt Teresa May has any more balls than Blair, they're both busy selling the UK down the river and we're now little different to the kind of right-wing puppet regimes the CIA operated in central and south america.
Can they? Would be interesting.
Anyway, I'm glad they actually decided. As I said before, I had mixed feelings about this case, but the decision is well motivated, and this decision has at least solid legal grounds.
I also like it that they are now discussing that no other case should never take this long again - what I do NOT like is that the independent review seeks to take the decision power away from the Home Secretary to bar extradition on the grounds of Human Rights. I'm not sure that is a sensible and humane idea.