Should people with neurological conditions like Aspergers Syndrome be extradited to other countries?

Current version: 01 Jun 2009 | 12:10 | Leo A Capella

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Yes, because... Majority of attack and evidence in another country

 

When the Crown Prosecution Service said that it would not try Mckinnon in the UK the head of the CPS organised crime division Alison Saunders cited a number of different factors including the fact that although Mackinnon may have been sitting at home using his British computer he was allegedly doing consistent and repeated damage to American defence systems. This included a time where the US was at a vulnerable period post 9/11 something that aggravates the situation as it was a time of national crisis for a country[1] Saunders concludes with the point that:

"The bulk of the evidence is located in the United States, the activity was directed against the military infrastructure of the United States, the investigation commenced in the United States and was ongoing, and there are a large number of witnesses, most of whom are located in the United States." If the activity of one person is directed against another state as well as being where the majority of witnesses lie then barring concerns about a fair trial people should be extradited to another country regardless of their own conditions.[2]

  1. ^ "CPS Decision on Gary Mckinnon"http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/109_09/index.html
  2. ^ "CPS Decision on Gary Mckinnon"http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/109_09/index.html

 

Firstly if the majority of evidence is in another country surely it would not add too much to the cost of sending the evidence and criminal experts to the UK. The logistics admittedly may be a challenge and the cost to the tax payer might be increased but no expense should be spared in the pursuit of equal justice.

Also witnesses could be reached either through the justice system paying for people's travel and accommodation fares or using other methods such as video conferencing. In this day and age this is possible and feasible whereas in past times it may not have been.