Bret McDanel

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Charge:	Computer Fraud
Sentence:	16 months
Years Imprisoned:	1.33
Year Crime:	2000
Year Convicted:	2002
Year Cleared:	2003
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	Los Angeles
City of Crime:	El Segundo
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Bret McDanel was wrongly convicted on June 5, 2002 of computer Fraud under the U.S. federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Mr. McDanel had worked as a security expert for a computer company El Segundo, California in 1999 and 2000 when he determined had a serious vulnerability in its software. He quit and emailed thousands of the company's customers that the security problem existed. The company fixed the problem, but he was then prosecuted. His defense of not causing any damage and actually being a whistleblower was rejected at his judge only trial, and he was convicted on June 25, 2002 for violating the CFAA. However after serving his 16 month prison sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed he had not violated the CFAA, and in October 2003 supported his appeal to have his conviction vacated."
Conviction Caused By:	Accused of violating the CFAA when it didn't criminalize his whistleblowing behavior.
Innocence Proved By:
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Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	29
Age When Released:	30
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Tech Ignorance Leads To Wrong Conviction, Matthew Fordahl, Associated Press, October 24, 2003"
Information Location 1:	http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7299
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Bret McDanel

Charge:

Computer Fraud

Sentence:

16 months

Years Imprisoned:

1.33

Year Crime:

2000

Year Convicted:

2002

Year Cleared:

2003

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

Los Angeles

City of Crime:

El Segundo

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Accused of violating the CFAA when it didn't criminalize his whistleblowing behavior.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

30

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Tech Ignorance Leads To Wrong Conviction, Matthew Fordahl, Associated Press, October 24, 2003"

Information Location 1:

http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7299

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Book About Case (2):

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