Slashdot Mirror
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.'"
I don't think so. US Postal regulations forbid anyone other than the recipient to open the letter, until delivery. Once a letter is delivered, they don't care what happens to it. After all, I throw out junk mail addressed to my wife. Is that also a crime?
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
I think it is ridiculous that this is being brought as a criminal prosecution. If his ex-wife had brought a civil suit, I would still think he should win, but that would be a sensible case. The man's fear of the child being exposed to domestic violence (possibly even physical abuse of the child) was perfectly legitimate. I would really like to know why the prosecutor is really going after this man. It sounds personal.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Imagine if the second husband DID assault the child? Then the new husband would be in trouble for NOT doing anything to prevent this atrocious act.
Funny that when we actually SHOULD be thinking about the children something else gets in the way.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law - Aleister Crowley
Here is another case where she made a big mistake, was proven wrong by evidence and wouldn't admit that she made a mistake. http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/09/did_oakland_county_prosecutor.html http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/prosecutor-laura-johnson-freed-murder-evidence-not-enough-20100927-wpms
My wife doesn't know any of my passwords, and I don't know any of hers. However, I do have an escrow file which she can open in the event of my death which contains them all.
She will need access to banking sites etc. when that happens, so privacy until then, and full disclosure after.
How about a more common sense approach to the question? When you're married, what's yours is hers, what's hers is hers, and what's our's is hers. That's the way it's always been, unless prenuptuals were signed. My wife opens all my mail - for the most part, I never bother looking at it. I routinely open mail that has her name on it - especially if she isn't home for a couple of days. Something may need to be brought to her attention, for pity's sake! Not to mention that ALL of my dealings are her business, and ALL of her dealings are my business. Marriage. I'm responsible for her, she's responsible for me, we're a team, a partnership. Only if, and when, an announcement of separation and/or impending divorce is made, are the married couple no longer a team or a partnership. AT THAT POINT IN TIME, then yes, it should become illegal to open his/her mail, or to tamper with his/her finances, property, or whatever. Oh yeah. The article mentioned that she was having an affair? That is most definitely the husband's legitimate concern. He has the right to know that the ho is cheating on him. And, also, a child's welfare was mentioned as the reason for forwarding the emails to a third party? Extenuating circumstances. It's ILLEGAL for a large percentage of the population to FAIL to report possible child abuse and endangerment. Hacking? Horse shit. I've read nothing to indicate that the guy didn't just GUESS the Gmail password. Hacking. My ass. Stupid bitch who is prosecuting him doesn't have a clue what hacking is all about.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Santa Letters in Canada are distributed to volunteers (mostly post office staff and the family thereof) who read them and write responses according to specific sets of rules and guidelines. My family does it every year since my father's a post man. It's fun.
Did you do that because you wanted to or because she asked and made it into a trust issue?