Mrs. Janis Sharp letter:
I used to be a foster carer; one of the few that could accommodate large sibling groups and was happy to be able to help keep families together.
Yet now, in a cruel twist of fate, my own family is being ripped apart. My son, Gary, 43, was arrested in 2002 for hacking into American military computers. I’m not sure I can ever fully explain the shock of that day.
Gary had been passionate about computers for years but it never occurred to me that his fascination with UFOs would lead to him being hounded by the US Department of Justice.
What Gary did was wrong: he recognises that now but he had no real malice.
The idea of Gary as some cyber-terrorist would be laughable but for the fact that the consequences are so serious. The phrase “he couldn’t hurt a fly” describes him perfectly.
Yet although we can see that, the US government just can’t.
When last year he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, it was almost a relief as it explained so much.
As a child he had extraordinary skills and passions such as being obsessed with astronomy from the age of two and being able to play the Moonlight Sonata without having taken piano lessons.
Not only did it explain his behaviour but I felt sure the authorities would now realise that Gary’s actions were, as we had said all along, those of someone intent on discovering the “truth” behind UFOs and various conspiracy theories, and nothing more sinister.
Identifying his Asperger’s doesn’t stop him being guilty of the crime. He knows that – we all do – and has said as much to the UK prosecutors.
Gary is compulsively truthful, even to his own detriment, again a symptom of Asperger’s.
He was obsessed with finding the truth and, unlike neurotypical people, his obsession wasn’t tempered by what we term common sense.
Gary felt he was on a moral crusade to discover the truth at all costs. He didn’t realise the impact of what he was doing or how it could be construed.
He left comments on US computers about the lack of response by the US government to 9/11, believing all the conspiracy theories .
Gary first entered their computers more than six months before when looking for UFO evidence and he was shocked at their lax security.
He is immature for his age and was annoyed with the Americans for suppressing the truth as he saw it.
Although what he did was wrong, he has always denied the alleged damage and I cannot believe anyone thinks sending him away from his family and girlfriend to face a trial, and possible prison sentence of up to 60 years in a super-max prison, is a fair way to deal with his crime.
Hard as it is to admit, I know he would not survive being extradited. Gary rarely leaves the house – he gets agitated.
Extradition is for people who commit a crime abroad and then flee but his crime was committed in the UK, so surely he should face trial here ?
This is what tears me apart and keeps my mind racing at night. No hacker has ever been extradited and yet Homeland Security’s Robert Gates admits they have tens of thousands of computer intrusions every month.
Why then decide to make an example of someone with Asperger’s who committed the crime of computer misuse when it was not even an extraditable offence and the sentence at that time was six months to two years?
I haven’t had a stress-free moment since 2005 when Gary was re-arrested and informed that the Americans intended to extradite him under the new treaty.
Gary takes beta-blockers simply to help him to get through life without being eaten up by the constant pressure and fear.
The medication keeps him calm on the surface but he says it feels as if he’s got the fires of hell burning inside him.
He’s now showing physical signs of the stress with a lump on his shoulder and this week had a growth removed from his eye.
I won’t rest until I know that Gary won’t be torn from the land he was born on. It’s cruel, unnecessary and totally disproportionate but still the British Government seems set on meekly yet pro-actively handing him over to the US government .
My terrified and vulnerable son risks being shipped off to a foreign country where he has no friends or family, to be imprisoned and forgotten about.
Americans would never allow their citizens to be treated this way – so why does Britain?
The case has ruined the past seven years of all of our lives. It’s shocking that during that time Gary could have been prosecuted, tried, sentenced and served his dues in the UK had Britain seen fit to take responsibility for its own citizens.
Yet instead we are still on a knife edge, desperately clinging to the hope that common sense and justice will prevail.
Yet now, in a cruel twist of fate, my own family is being ripped apart. My son, Gary, 43, was arrested in 2002 for hacking into American military computers. I’m not sure I can ever fully explain the shock of that day.
Gary had been passionate about computers for years but it never occurred to me that his fascination with UFOs would lead to him being hounded by the US Department of Justice.
What Gary did was wrong: he recognises that now but he had no real malice.
The idea of Gary as some cyber-terrorist would be laughable but for the fact that the consequences are so serious. The phrase “he couldn’t hurt a fly” describes him perfectly.
Yet although we can see that, the US government just can’t.
When last year he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, it was almost a relief as it explained so much.
As a child he had extraordinary skills and passions such as being obsessed with astronomy from the age of two and being able to play the Moonlight Sonata without having taken piano lessons.
Not only did it explain his behaviour but I felt sure the authorities would now realise that Gary’s actions were, as we had said all along, those of someone intent on discovering the “truth” behind UFOs and various conspiracy theories, and nothing more sinister.
Identifying his Asperger’s doesn’t stop him being guilty of the crime. He knows that – we all do – and has said as much to the UK prosecutors.
Gary is compulsively truthful, even to his own detriment, again a symptom of Asperger’s.
He was obsessed with finding the truth and, unlike neurotypical people, his obsession wasn’t tempered by what we term common sense.
Gary felt he was on a moral crusade to discover the truth at all costs. He didn’t realise the impact of what he was doing or how it could be construed.
He left comments on US computers about the lack of response by the US government to 9/11, believing all the conspiracy theories .
Gary first entered their computers more than six months before when looking for UFO evidence and he was shocked at their lax security.
He is immature for his age and was annoyed with the Americans for suppressing the truth as he saw it.
Although what he did was wrong, he has always denied the alleged damage and I cannot believe anyone thinks sending him away from his family and girlfriend to face a trial, and possible prison sentence of up to 60 years in a super-max prison, is a fair way to deal with his crime.
Hard as it is to admit, I know he would not survive being extradited. Gary rarely leaves the house – he gets agitated.
Extradition is for people who commit a crime abroad and then flee but his crime was committed in the UK, so surely he should face trial here ?
This is what tears me apart and keeps my mind racing at night. No hacker has ever been extradited and yet Homeland Security’s Robert Gates admits they have tens of thousands of computer intrusions every month.
Why then decide to make an example of someone with Asperger’s who committed the crime of computer misuse when it was not even an extraditable offence and the sentence at that time was six months to two years?
I haven’t had a stress-free moment since 2005 when Gary was re-arrested and informed that the Americans intended to extradite him under the new treaty.
Gary takes beta-blockers simply to help him to get through life without being eaten up by the constant pressure and fear.
The medication keeps him calm on the surface but he says it feels as if he’s got the fires of hell burning inside him.
He’s now showing physical signs of the stress with a lump on his shoulder and this week had a growth removed from his eye.
I won’t rest until I know that Gary won’t be torn from the land he was born on. It’s cruel, unnecessary and totally disproportionate but still the British Government seems set on meekly yet pro-actively handing him over to the US government .
My terrified and vulnerable son risks being shipped off to a foreign country where he has no friends or family, to be imprisoned and forgotten about.
Americans would never allow their citizens to be treated this way – so why does Britain?
The case has ruined the past seven years of all of our lives. It’s shocking that during that time Gary could have been prosecuted, tried, sentenced and served his dues in the UK had Britain seen fit to take responsibility for its own citizens.
Yet instead we are still on a knife edge, desperately clinging to the hope that common sense and justice will prevail.
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