I used to know a bunch of phone phreaks in the 80s, met them through online contact on Viewtron and PlayNet. Fortunately, the leader liked me. I can remember being on the phone with people in Chicago and Texas and London all at the same time. They were all just kids--very smart kids. When we moved, they didn't get our new phone number. I sometimes wonder what happened to those guys.
This reminds me a lot of John "Cap'n Crunch" Draper. Though I don't think Draper took it nearly as far in terms of abuse, and in Draper's time you were much less likely to be taken down for just toying with phone lines...
This kid has very useful skills. He absolutely put people in danger, and he should serve time for that, but not a full 11 years. Instead he should be required to work with a mentor on redirecting his energy towards projects that will benefit him and others, instead of simply satisfying a need for power.
He could make up for his wrongs, improve telecom security, and develop a sense of worth and meaning in his life that is clearly missing and led to him doing these things in the first place.
So many of you commenters here are so ready to throw someone in jail who clearly isn't fully responsible for the situation they found themselves in. Let's see how well YOU would handle being blind, overweight, without a father, a mother that doesn't pay enough attention, and constantly abused by your peers.
A lot more can be made of this kid than just "ex-convict".
Despite his crimes, I still have serious problems with hard jail time for non-violent offenders. Jail is meant to keep citizens away from rapists, murderers, etc. Someone making prank calls, even if they are severe? C'mon...that's 11 years of tax dollars down the drain.
How about installing a cell jammer on his house, disconnecting any internet/phone, and putting a 24/7 monitor on him to make sure he stays home? What'll that run? A few hundred per year?
How? According to the story, by not quitting before he turned 18. The FBI agent as much as told him they weren't going to prosecute him while he was a minor.
I always wondered what someones hair would look like if they actually bought the Afro Sheen Blow Out Kit. (As seen on Soul Train with the ever cool Don Cornelius.)
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He could make up for his wrongs, improve telecom security, and develop a sense of worth and meaning in his life that is clearly missing and led to him doing these things in the first place.
So many of you commenters here are so ready to throw someone in jail who clearly isn't fully responsible for the situation they found themselves in. Let's see how well YOU would handle being blind, overweight, without a father, a mother that doesn't pay enough attention, and constantly abused by your peers.
A lot more can be made of this kid than just "ex-convict".
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How about installing a cell jammer on his house, disconnecting any internet/phone, and putting a 24/7 monitor on him to make sure he stays home? What'll that run? A few hundred per year?
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^__^
U so bad !
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They gave him a chance to stop.
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That's an understatement.
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