Jeremy Hammond is a gifted young computer programmer facing a decade in prison. His crime? Leaking information from the private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, information which revealed that Stratfor had been spying on human rights activists at the behest of corporations and the U.S. government.
In March 2012 Jeremy was arrested in his Chicago home and charged with violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the same legislation used to prosecute Aaron Swartz. This outdated law, written before the Internet was even created, gives absurdly broad powers to corporations and prosecutors to criminalize an array of online activity and pursue extreme and disproportionate sentences. By contrast, Jeremy’s co-defendants in Ireland will not be prosecuted and in the U.K. none will spend more than 16 months in prison.
In a non-cooperating plea deal, Jeremy pled guilty to one count of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. His sentencing will be held on November 15, 2013 at 10 AM at Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Since March of 2012, Jeremy has been denied bail, cut off from his family, and held in solitary confinement– treatment normally reserved for the most egregious offenses. He did nothing for personal gain and everything in hopes of making the world a better place. He is facing a maximum sentence of ten years, but the minimum is zero. It’s time for him to come home.