Palin Hacker Gets 1 Year Sentence
Wired reports:
David Kernell, the former Tennessee student convicted of hacking into Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account, was sentenced on Friday to one year in custody.
Kernell, 22, was convicted earlier this year of misdemeanor computer intrusion and a felony count of obstruction of justice. The jury found him not guilty of a wire-fraud charge and hung on a fourth charge for identity theft, after four days of deliberating.
The convictions carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in custody and a possible fine of up to $250,000. Federal sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence of between 15 and 21 months in prison. The government was seeking 18 months, but Kernell’s attorney asked the court to forgo a prison sentence and give his client probation instead.
Kernell was sentenced to one year and one day in custody and three years of probation. Federal Judge Thomas W. Phillips recommended that his sentence be served in a halfway house in Tennessee, although his destination will be determined by the federal Bureau of Prisons. The judge also recommended that Kernell get mental health treatment. According to court filings, Kernell had suffered from depression since the age of 11.
Click here to read more.
