Popehat (a group blog run by geek lawyers) is really fantastic for getting into the nuts and bolts of criminal law, and I cannot recommend it to HN readers enough.

Given his abilities and renown he would find a job both despite and because of his would be conviction.

There are plenty of "security experts" that started as hackers/crackers and with time served on their records that don't have issue finding a job.

If you apply to Walmart with a record well GL, but in Tech hmm you've hacked into the DOD? well how about 6 figures + equity if you come work for us...

The guy was part of the RSS working group at what 14 and part of the RDF group at W3C at 15? If he would not have tragically ended his life he would've ended up working for Google or any other tech company he would choose to work for regardless of his conviction.

Even if that's true (for which no evidence is presented), the DEA agent, being a federal law enforcement professional, probably understands federal sentencing, so probably wouldn't be susceptible to threats that can only work on someone who doesn't understand that.

> His union lawyers or whatever made sure of it.

I am sure that any competent criminal defense lawyer makes both the theoretical maximum and the likely real sentences clear to their clients, yes. That's actually a good thing, I would say. Not, of course, that information on this is particularly hard to find even for reasonably intelligent laypersons with access to public information.

And no, Aaron was definitely not "threatened" with 50 years. Where are you getting that from?

Force faced a cumulative maximum sentence of sixty years and $750k in fines. He opted to plead guilty. There's no particular reason to believe the plea bargaining process was friendly. He got six years, and the prosecution argued for more.