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Is Reading Spouse's E-Mail a Crime?

Hugh Pickens writes "The Detroit Free Press reports that Leon Walker is charged with unlawfully reading the e-mail of Ciara Walker, his wife at that time, which showed she was having an affair with her second husband, who once had been arrested for beating her in front of her son. Walker says he gave the e-mails to her first husband, the child's father, to protect the boy. 'I was doing what I had to do,' says Walker. 'We're talking about putting a child in danger.' Now prosecutors, relying on a Michigan statute typically used to prosecute crimes such as identity theft or stealing trade secrets, have charged Leon Walker with a felony for logging onto a laptop in the home he shared with his wife. Prosecutor Jessica Cooper defended her decision to charge Walker. 'The guy is a hacker,' says Cooper, adding that the Gmail account 'was password protected, he had wonderful skills, and was highly trained. Then he downloaded [the emails] and used them in a very contentious way.'"

2 of 496 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is opening a spouses mail a crime? by pablo_max · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Don't be a disingenuous ass. Having a room mate is clearly different than being married in the legal sense. There are special rights given to married couples. You share a credit rating, your lives are linked.
    Again, don't be an ass.

  2. Re:Is opening a spouses mail a crime? by Entropius · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Your first sentence indicates that you are a reactionary asshole who's not gotten out of the 19th century in time for the 21st. Just skimmed the rest, and it confirmed that first impression.