Research for Autism

UK's Gary McKinnon extradition call reflects scepticism about US justice

The US-UK extradition treaty is a Bush-era 'war on terror' relic. And America's mass incarceration is a real human rights issue

Computer hacker Gary McKinnon with his mother, Janis Sharp, who said the battle against extradition had taken an enormous toll on them both.

On Tuesday, the British government announced that it was refusing to extradite computer hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States. McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, had been sought for extradition by the United States because he repeatedly hacked into government computer systems. Theresa May, the Cameron government's Home secretary, declared that:

"Mr McKinnon's extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that the decision to extradite would be incompatible with his human rights."

Because of his illness, McKinnon's case is somewhat unique. But it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the decision by a conservative government of one of America's staunchest allies not to extradite him reflects increasing international scepticism about US criminal justice process.

On its face, May's announcement may seem surprising. The charges against McKinnon – that he deliberately impaired government computers, causing more than $500,000-worth of damage – are not trivial. McKinnon has not denied the hacking, although he has said that he was merely looking for hidden government evidence of UFOs and other conspiracies. It's not unreasonable for a government to protect the security of its computer systems. Given the close ties between the US and UK, it might be expected that the question of what extent McKinnon's Asperger's syndrome mitigates the offenses with which he is charged would be determined by an American court.

In a broader context, though, the extradition order becomes more troubling and British scepticism understandable. This starts with the law governing the extradition process. A relic of the Blair government's complete capitulation to the Bush administration over the "war on terror", the treaty under which the US sought McKinnon's extradition is notably lacking in due process protections – even for British citizens accused of crimes while on British soil.

Not surprisingly, while sold as essential to combating terrorism, the broad latitude afforded by the treaty has been used to request the extradition of suspects who (like McKinnon) are not terrorist suspects. May's determination that the extradition order would violate the Human Rights Act of 1998 likely reflects a retrospective determination that the 2003 treaty did not adequately protect the interests of British citizens.

There are two additional reasons to be sceptical about the American government's request. First, it's hard to ignore the egregious double standards the US government has applied in cases broadly related to the "war on terror". The Obama administration has refused to prosecute any of the Bush administration's human rights abuses, while, on the other hand, it has very aggressively prosecuted whistle-blowers. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that this will have made even allies less likely to take at face value criminal charges laid by the US government.

Even more problematic, and likely to be an increasing difficulty with regard to American requests for extradition, is the extraordinarily punitive American criminal justice system. The scale of incarceration in the US makes it a massive outlier among liberal democracies, and this scandalous state of affairs has to affect every extradition decision. The British government cannot, in fact, reasonably be confident that the charges against McKinnon would be balanced against a fair consideration of his illness. McKinnon would have faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted, and it would never be wise to assume that the American criminal justice system won't issue a disproportionately harsh sentence.

The Cameron government's refusal to extradite McKinnon certainly reflects the idiosyncratic facts of his individual case. But it almost definitely also reflects the damage done to the reputation of the United States by a completely broken criminal justice system. It's impossible for even the staunchest of US allies to look the other way when faced with the misplaced priorities and brutal mass incarceration that characterize the American practice of criminal law.

The realities of domestic politics make meaningful reform of these injustices enormously difficult, so the international reputation of the US will continue to suffer. And there will be increasing numbers of cases in which countries refuse to extradite people to face charges in American courts.

Nearly half of autistic teens are bullied

 Close to half of all teenagers with an autism spectrum disorder are bullied at school, says a survey of their parents.

 The results, published Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, suggest that rate is much higher than the estimated 11 percent of bullied kids in the general population.

 Previous studies have found kids and teens who are bullied tend to be more depressed, lonely and anxious and do worse in school than those who aren't picked on, according to the researchers.

 That means bullying could make things extra difficult for those with autism, who may already struggle more in school than other kids.

 The researchers say the findings suggest schools should target their anti-bullying campaigns toward the more vulnerable populations, such as children with autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

 "I would argue that the bullying interventions that we're using now, if not tailored, are ineffective," said Paul R. Sterzing, the study's lead author from the University of California, Berkley.

 He added that the problem may also grow along with the number of kids being diagnosed with autism. It's now estimated that about one in 88 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder, which include autism and Asperger's syndrome.

 Using records from a 2001 survey of 920 parents, Sterzing and his colleagues found that 46 percent of parents said their autistic teenagers were the victims of bullying and 15 percent thought their children were bullies themselves. Nine percent of moms and dads said their kids were both victims and bullies.

 While the researchers said autistic children were picked on at a much higher rate than current estimates for kids in general, the proportion who were bullies or both victims and bullies was about average.

 Sterzing told Reuters Health that teens with autism and ADHD or those who had autism and were in regular classes were both especially likely to be victims of bullying.

 That, however, does not mean kids with autism should be separated from their peers and put in special education classes. Instead, Sterzing said it could mean that regular classes haven't been doing a good job of including kids with autism.

 Debra J. Pepler, who researches bullying among vulnerable children at York University in Toronto but wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health there are some strategies that may help reduce bullying toward autistic children.

 Specifically, she said classes can create "circles of support," which are groups of children who are educated about a student's condition and able to provide help and support.

 She added that it's important to set the expectation for the classroom "that everyone has the right to be safe, and just because someone is different doesn't mean it's OK to make fun of them or bully them."