"My Son Could Become Suicidal" Warns Gary McKinnon's Mother

After last week's announcement by Home Secretary Alan Johnson that he will not intervene in the extradition of Computer hacker Gary McKinnon, the hacker’s mother has came forward and claimed that her son wants to face the court but not in the US.

Gary McKinnon, who is diagnosed with Aspergers’s Syndrome, is facing up to 60 years in prison for hacking into US government systems including those belonging to the Pentagon.

Janis Sharp, Mr. McKinnon’s mother, talking to BBC’s Andrew Marr show said that her son should not be extradited to US even if he doesn’t have Asperger’s Syndrome.

She claimed that the British citizens had a disadvantage in foreign courts as burden of proof was different in every legal system. She also voiced her concerns over her son’s mental state and said that his mental condition was so fragile that he could commit suicide if jailed.

McKinnon, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2008 is accused of hacking in to 97 United States military and NASA computers in 2001 and 2002 including the networks owned by NASA, the US Army, US Navy, Department of Defense, and the US Air Force. He used the name ‘Solo’. He later claimed that he was looking for a proof on the existence of UFOs.