David Kernell, Palin Hacker, Said To Be Too Well-Off For Halfway House

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A top federal official is explaining why prison instead of a halfway house was a better place for a former Tennessee student convicted of hacking Sarah Palin's private e-mail account.

A judge had recommended that David Kernell serve his one-year sentence at a Knoxville halfway house. But the U.S. Bureau of Prisons instead sent Kernell to a minimum-security prison in Kentucky.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Bureau of Prisons chief Jose Santana wrote to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Phillips to explain the decision.

Santana said the halfway house space is needed for inmates who have limited skills, resources and community support. He said that Kernell has three years of college and the support of his family.

Kernell's lawyer says the explanation is lacking.

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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com

Comments

[grammy11]

01:35 PM on 02/05/2011

I want to know why his attorney hasn't entered perjury charges against Bristol Palin. Proof was provided that they both lied under oath including the fact that Bristol has security geards next door, they had an land line phone in the house and she had a cell phone that was given to her by Levi's mother. She said she was alone in the wilderness but there is a Best Western next door to their house. This kid is going to prison and she gets away with committing perjury. Wow!

[shilparules]

06:49 AM on 01/29/2011

And besides, cutie-pie Kernell would be very popular with the bully-boys at a traditional prison facility.

[KATE1230]

10:48 PM on 01/28/2011

Palin said that we have to accept responsibility for our actions yet that doesn't apply to her kids. Her son vandalizes school buses causing thousands in damage yet what happens? Allegedly, nothing is admitted and he joins the Army with a cushy spot far from combat in Iraq, being discharged after a year. Willow and her friends do $30k worth of damage to an unoccupied home and $arah gets her and the other girls off leaving the boys involved to take the blame. Bristol gets knocked up and has a baby, only to make hundreds of thousands of dollars for publicity photos, magazine covers and DWTS. That's taking responsibility for their actions? Not on your life, $arah! Of course, if you ever stayed home with your kids, they might have turned out differently. After all, when they did anything wrong, you sent them to friends and relatives to live. Mother of the Year is not a title that you could ever be considered for!

[dancingstu]

05:04 PM on 01/28/2011

And yet James O'Keefe (of ACORN pimp video fame) commits multiple crimes but gets to walk free.

[Diana Moreno]

12:50 PM on 01/28/2011

Poor Kid. $paylins kids get away with vandalism, cyber stalking, underage drinking and drug use, kidnapping and violating child visitations, and lord knows what else, and this kids gets one-year. Sure what he did was wrong, but lives were not endangered (brakes, school buses) and no one's property was destroyed. This kid was probably making a contribution by at least getting educated--can't say that for the paylin brood. PLeeeeeze people of Alaska come forward, tell us what you know.