What a prize knob end YOU are!

Jeez guys! find some common ground (or get a room)

Extradition is either something you believe in or something you don't, either way it's there and we are obliged to honor it, if you post a threat or have posed a threat to a foreign country you're a terrorist (unless you're at war in which case you're a hero), extradition itself is not seen as a punishment so retrospective application is irrelevant (unless you have already been punished).

The US is not a free country, the patriot act and earlier sedation acts means that a US citizen better not pose a threat to the government (important note, government not country), the recent treatment of vaguly arabic looking US citzens is unmatched by the treatment of vaguely Japanese looking US citizens back in WW2, the conditions that some US citizens put up with in the US was obviously better than Nazi concentration camps, but people still died, still lost jobs and homes, it will happen again.

McKinnon needs to be punished, employing him at GCHQ is a stupid idea, punishment should be a deterrent, he should serve his time then perhaps pursue application of his skills in a more productive way - if he is not punished then every script kiddie out there will think that every hack is a job interview.

Alan - assuming that the post office test has vaguely relevant questions on it's paper then it's probably appropriate, finding an efficient route is a great skill (although routes are all worked out in advance), but what if he opens the letters, refuses to post anything unless it's spelt correctly, folds "do not bend" letts that are too large, can't use initiative when an address doesn't exist, is agoraphobic, etc. etc. equal opportunities employment is out there for a reason, if it's wrong challenge it but don't assume the post office test paper is irrelevant for the job.

I was once caught for speeding rushing to my daughter because she had a motorcycle accident, does this excuse the crime? no, I freely accept this (it is a mitigation), it may explain but not excuse, I would hope McKinnon gets fair treatment, I cannot see who it serves not to punish him, but if motive and mental state is not taken into account then that would be unfair, maybe don't throw the book at him, maybe a small pamphlet and restric further access to computer systems - but it's no my call.