] Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, of Hopkins, Minnesota, admitted
] "intentionally causing damage to a protected computer"
] before a federal judge in Seattle yesterday as part of a
] plea bargaining arrangement. He faces between 18 to 37
] months in prison for his crime instead of a maximum
] sentence of ten years in jail. Parson may also be ordered
] to pay a fine, which could run into millions of dollars,
] according to Assistant US Attorney Annette Hayes.

He plead down to 37 months and millions in fines? The guy took an active worm, changed its tag (to his name!), and re-released it. This does NOT set an example for "worm writers." Parson didn't write a worm, and the people who did were never caught. Parson put his name in the worm. Any idiot could have caught him. The actual impact that adding his name had on the spread of this worm was zilch.

The only message the government is sending here is that our laws are unjust and our police are incompetent. Once again, the smart people get away scott free but the unlucky and dim get squashed like bugs for no good reason.

[ Yeah, it's pretty stupid. The kid certainly shouldn't get off scott free, but it seems overly harsh given the circumstances. -k]

Blaster teen pleads guilty