A Give Up Exclusive!
from Spectacular Computer Crimes
by Jay Bloombecker

KEVIN MITNICK: THE WILLIE HORTON OF COMPUTER CRIME?

SENTENCING

Mitnick's case suggests that the false allegations used to keep him in custody also prejudiced the court's consideration of a fair sentence. After prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed to a plea bargain calling for him to spend one year in jail, the U.S. District Judge hearing his case, Mariana Pfaelzer, rejected the agreement.

Finally, three months later, a disposition was reached. Mitnick was sentenced to serve one year in jail, being credited for the seven-and-a-half months he spent incarcerated before his plea. He was then to enter a rehabilitation program in Los Angeles to be treated as a "computer addict."

The concept of computer addiction, discussed in Chapter 3, is a novel one for the courts to consider. Perhaps it will gain favor. Maybe we have come up with a concept which will allow us to distinguish between "good" computer irresponsibility, the kind committed by nice upper-class kids, like Robert Morris, and "bad" computer irresponsibility, the kind committed by obnoxious lower-class kids: all we need to do is call the latter group addicts. Then, whenever we need to have a symbol of evil computing, we can focus on the addicts and leave the nice kids alone.

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