“I have no faith in the ‘justice’ system,” he wrote. ” Perhaps my
actions today, and this letter, will send a stronger message to the
public. Either way, I have lost control over this situation, and this
is my only way to regain control.”
The note was provided to Wired.com this week by James’ father,
Robert, who kept the details of his son’s death quiet for over a year
because of the ongoing prosecutions over the retail hacks.
James apparently suffered from depression; agents executing the
search warrant found another suicide note James had written years
earlier, but did not seize his gun. The Secret Service declined to
comment on the matter Wednesday, citing the continuing TJX prosecutions.
“Sometimes I thought he was pretty smart,” says his father.
“Sometimes I thought, oh my God, I’ve raised an idiot. And the jury is
still out.”
James gained notoriety in 2000, when, just 16, he became the first
juvenile sentenced federally to a term of confinement for computer
hacking. Operating under the handle C0mrade, James hacked into NASA and
Defense Department computers for fun. Among other trophies, he
penetrated the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and
downloaded the proprietary environmental control software for the
International Space Station — the programming that controlled the
temperature and humidity in the station’s living space. James was
sentenced to six months of house arrest — a sentence applauded by then-Attorney General Janet Reno — followed by probation."
