Autistic computer hacker facing extradition to US warns ‘I will take my life’
An autistic computer hacker who faces extradition to America over allegations that he stole huge amounts of data from government agencies warned he would kill himself if he was sent to the US.
Lauri Love, who has Asperger Syndrome, said the “deck” was “stacked” against him because the American justice system “coerces” accused people into pleading guilty to get reduced sentences.
The 31-year-old, who lives with his parents in Suffolk, said he doubted there was “any prospect” of him having justice if he was sent to the US.
And Mr Love, who also suffers from severe eczema, suggested that the inevitable ignoring of his physical and mental disabilities in American jails would push him to suicide.
He said: “If I was sent to America under horrific conditions those urges to bring my life to an end would be a lot stronger.
“Sadly what I expect will happen – the urges, the despair, the helplessness, the hopelessness – I will exercise what remains of my self-control and I will take my life.
“(Extradition) will result in a tragedy that could be avoided by not having me kidnapped.”
Mr Love is accused of hacking into the US Federal Reserve, the Department of Defence, Nasa and the FBI in a spate of online attacks in 2012 and 2013.
Authorities there want him to stand trial in three different jurisdictions – New York, New Jersey and Virginia – over charges of cyber-hacking, which his lawyers say could lead to him spend up to 99 years in prison if found guilty.
On the first day of his extradition hearing, Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told lengthy legal proceedings in the US and the potential of decades in jail could cause his health to deteriorate and lead to mental breakdown, with suicide a “high risk”.
Mr Love arrived at the court on Wednesday wearing an origami rose he had crafted while in the dock the previous day.
Giving evidence as his friends and supporters watched on from the public gallery, his parents listening intently at the back of the court, Mr Love spoke of his fears of the prospect of facing the US justice system.
Scratching his back and head uncontrollably in the witness stand, he said the extradition agreement between the UK and US was based on “mutual judicial trust”.
But he said: “96% or 97% of cases end in a plea. Under a system with less coercive plea bargaining they would be found innocent.”
Mr Love said he expected it would take five years before his case came to trial, and that he faced three prosecutions in three different jurisdictions.
He said: “The deck is stacked for most people, that is why we have 19 out of 20 cases not going to trial …
“I do not entertain any prospect of having justice in the US. If I have justice it will be here in the UK.”
Outlining his fears of abuse – the availability of uncontrolled drugs, extreme violence and the high rates of suicide in US prisons, particularly among people with mental health disabilities – he added: “Being in prison in the US, I can’t imagine anything worse for me.”
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2016, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Lauren Hurley / PA Wire.
