Hacker of Sarah Palin's e-mail found guilty

1) I think this kid was way stupid to do this. He needs a long sentence because we need to point out that identity theft and hacking like this is A VERY BAD THING. I don't want anyone reading my mail either. Mail is private.

2) Do not use Yahoo for anything sensitive. The guy cracked into the account in 5 minutes using publicly available information. Yahoo alows you to set up security questions, but they only allow you questions of their choosing. The guy knew the name of her mother in law, the school Palin attended, and the city where she was born. The bank where I used to work allowed you to set up your own questions. Mine was in Russian, and even if you could read it, you wouldn't know the answer.

Anyway, all citizens should have the privilege of secure communication, and anyone who invades privacy should expect a long term stay at Graybar Manor.

He was not convicted of Identity Theft in this case. The jury could not decide on that charge. So for that charge he is still innocent.

The following is not in reply to your post, just my own comments.

What he did was wrong, but 20 years and ruining his life for a stupid mistake?

He is 22 years old (or was that his age when he committed the crime) and there is no evidence that he is a repeat offender or will be in the future. Punish him? Yes, by all means, but ruin his life? I hope there is some mercy in that court!

Immie

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – A college student who hacked into former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account and posted some of its contents on the Internet was found guilty Friday.

After four days of deliberations, a federal jury found David Kernell, the 22-year-old son of a Democratic Tennessee state legislator, guilty of obstruction of justice, a felony, and unauthorized access of a computer, a misdemeanor.

Kernell was cleared of a wire fraud charge, and the jury could not agree on a verdict on a charge of identity theft.

Judge Thomas Phillips declared a mistrial on the identity theft charge but did not set a date for sentencing.

The obstruction charge alone carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while the misdemeanor count is punishable by up to one year in jail.

Palin issued a statement on her Facebook page, thanking the jury and prosecutors and explaining the case's importance.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – A college student who hacked into former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account and posted some of its contents on the Internet was found guilty Friday.

After four days of deliberations, a federal jury found David Kernell, the 22-year-old son of a Democratic Tennessee state legislator, guilty of obstruction of justice, a felony, and unauthorized access of a computer, a misdemeanor.

Kernell was cleared of a wire fraud charge, and the jury could not agree on a verdict on a charge of identity theft.

Judge Thomas Phillips declared a mistrial on the identity theft charge but did not set a date for sentencing.

The obstruction charge alone carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while the misdemeanor count is punishable by up to one year in jail.

Palin issued a statement on her Facebook page, thanking the jury and prosecutors and explaining the case's importance.