Saving Gary McKinnon (A Mother's Story)

For ten years Gary McKinnon became the unwilling focus of Anglo–US diplomatic relations. A computer systems analyst living in London, he believed the US government was withholding vital information about the presence of UFOs. The unremarkable lives of he and his mother Janis changed dramatically one morning in March 2002 when Gary phoned to tell her that he had been arrested and was being interviewed about hacking into US government computers. Paul J. McNulty, the then-US Attorney for Virginia, announced that Gary was indicted in Alexandria, Virginia, on November 12 that year, and simultaneously announced that the United States intended to extradite him.

Two years later the US government filed a request for Gary's extradition and on June 7, 2005, he was arrested. Extradition to the United States seemed certain and so, fearing that Gary would kill himself rather than face being taken away to face seven counts of up to ten years each, Janis's extraordinary battle began.

Janis Sharp spent the following ten years fighting her son's extradition. In October 2012 she finally won. This was a spectacular victory for Janis and spoke volumes about her relentless fight. Saving Gary McKinnon is the true story of a mother's fight to save her son from living out the rest of his life behind bars. The US judiciary had all the might of the world's greatest power. But it had not reckoned on Gary's mother.