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A comment on MIT President on Aaron Swartz. Parent comment

Re:MIT President on Aaron Swartz by masklinn on Sunday January 13, 2013 @04:57PM (#5052035)
> Surely he did have an option to "get off without pleading guilty" - to be found not guilty by a jury of his peers.

1. That would have bankrupted him anyway.

2. He was guilty, as far as the law book is concerned.

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Re:MIT President on Aaron Swartz by tankenmate on Sunday January 13, 2013 @05:54PM (#5052231)
I'm not sure but weren't all the charges he was accused of require mens rea?
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Re:MIT President on Aaron Swartz by nitrogen on Sunday January 13, 2013 @07:49PM (#5052637)
Maybe a Massachusetts jury would be better, but I would generally expect the alleged fact that Aaron hid his face from a camera with a bike helmet (sorry, can't remember where I read this) to be enough to convince most juries of ill intent, given that most people seem to equate "sneaky" with "wrong."
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