UK Jail Time For NASA Hacker?

20 British MPs have tabled a motion calling for NASA hacker Gary McKinnon to serve any jail time in the UK, not the US.

Hacker Gary McKinnon is facing extradition from the UK to the US for breaking into a number of US military networks – NASA, the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defense.

He’s exhausted a number of appeals, including the European Court of Human Rights, and is currently awaiting a decision by the Home Secretary on when the extradition process will begin. If he’s convicted in the US, he potentially faces decades in jail and millions of dollars in fines, the BBC reports.

However, there might be a ray of hope: 20 British MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling for McKinnon to serve any sentence imposed in a British jail. It’s not without precedent, as both Holland and Israel routinely request that nationals with medical or mental problems are repatriated to serve their sentences. McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

The Home Secretary has been urged not to allow extradition to begin until she has received an assurance that McKinnon will be allowed to serve his sentence in Britain.