Re:Marcus Hutchins Stopped WannaCry – He Deserves a Pardon
by asdfasgasdgasdg on Friday April 26, 2019 @08:14AM
(#19756618)
Reform is only one of the four major reasons for incarceration. You've addressed that he's reformed, and I'll stipulate that he has for the purpose of this discussion. I don't think that alone is enough that we should give him a pass. Plenty of people reform before they are convicted of any crime. Most murderers would never reoffend and sincerely regret their actions. But nobody speaks of letting them skip jail solely on this basis.
It is this very question that the article poses, and it goes so much deeper than merely tech. "Do the sins of your past define you as a person today?"
Abraham Lincoln was likely raised as a racist and likely believed in racism for at least the decade that his parents' beliefs dominated his. Clearly his actions redeemed not only himself, but humanity; and I therefore believe that the person today is the more important person.
I've seen countless examples of people who have said stupid shit in the 90's or the 00's, who have changed their ways, who have been slaughtered by the larger internet. If you are to be ridiculed by Earth, why change your ways at all? Lose if you do, lose if you don't. If change is the goal, why attack people who actually change?
I struggle with my biases daily, I learned them from the South African government, but by hell I will better them and forget them. I am not the same person today as I was yesterday, nor are you and nor is Hutchins.