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Hacker Faces 105 Years In Prison After Blackmailing 350+ Women
redletterdave writes "According to the 30-count indictment released by the Central District of California, 27-year-old hacker Karen 'Gary' Kazaryan allegedly hacked his way into hundreds of online accounts, using personal information and nude or semi-nude photos of his victims to coerce more than 350 female victims to show him their naked bodies, usually over Skype. By posing as a friend, Kazaryan allegedly tricked these women into stripping for him on camera, capturing more than 3,000 images of these women to blackmail them. Kazaryan was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday; if convicted on all 30 counts, including 15 counts of computer intrusion and 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, Kazaryan could face up to 105 years in federal prison."
But no doubt he'll take the plea bargain and spend a mere 1% of that in a low security prison, just like Aaron was supposed to.
You are lost in a twisty maze of little standards, all different.
He's scum. He preyed on innocents without remorse and deserves punishment. And yet you're going to give him more jail time than he'd get for MURDER?
I hate that I have to stand beside him and say this is wrong. I hate that I have to support someone so despicable. I hate that the flawed system actually makes me support people like Gary Kazaryan.
And yet it's something I must do.
Not all plea deals are bad
But many of them are.
I don't believe the court system would handle everything going to trial.
When I was in the military back in the 1980s, if a defendant pleaded guilty in either an NJP or court martial, the presiding officer or judge was required to conduct a "providency hearing" and conclude, and document, that the plea was actually in the defendants best interest. I probably conducted over a hundred NJPs, and I never once , accepted a guilty plea. Usually this was because it was not in the defendants best interest, but also because a finding of guilty in a providency hearing could be an avenue for appeal, which would be a lot more paperwork. In several of those cases, there was insufficient evidence for a conviction, and the defendant got off.
Civilian courts should have something similar. Before a judge accepts a guilty plea, they should have to review the evidence, and conclude that the defendant is probably actually guilty of what they are admitting to, although the standard would be less than "beyond a reasonable doubt". This would eliminate the most egregious plea bargins, but still allow most to go forward.
While I was fortunate enough to never undergo NJP during my military career, I can see one major flaw with moving that system into the civilian sector : Chain of Command
In the Marines, my boss at work was also my boss overseeing my personal life (to a degree) and on up the chain. This gives us a vested interest in not crippling someone via monetary penalties or jail/brig time. I knew a few guys who got NJP'ed for a few things, and there was almost a family-type thought process in place. We'll take care of it in-house, punish the person for their stupidity, and get them back on their feet so they can keep working and stay combat ready.
A judge in civilian court doesn't know you, doesn't care if you're living on ramen noodles and sleeping in your car for the next year. That judge is never going into combat with you. You could literally step into traffic and die as soon as you leave the courthouse, and the judge would not be affected in the least. They just want to set an example of you, and bilk you for as much money as they can, because that money goes straight into the city coffers. Which brings up another major difference that hurts NJP in a civilian setting : Barracks and the Chow Hall (or BAH and comrats) No matter how much money you garnish from a Marine's paycheck, they will always have three square meals and a roof over their head.
I'd love to see some sanity instilled in the Justice system, and I think NJP might be a decent starting point ... but it's going to need some serious revisions before it works outside of the military.
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