Re:MIT President on Aaron Swartz
by nitrogen on Sunday January 13, 2013 @07:51PM
(#5052648)
Being labeled as a felon, with the implications thereof regarding voting, employment, serving on a jury, etc. is hardly an option worth considering.
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| on HN ]
So the two options were:
1) Plead not guilty, case drags on for years, costs $millions to defend, get convicted, serve 2-3 years in jail, unable to fight for something you believe in during that time
2) Plead guilty, case is over quickly, not expensive to defend, get convicted, serve 2-3 months in jail, get on with fighting for something you believe in
I would say option #2 is "worth considering".
He was facing potentially 35 years in jail, not 2-3 years.
Different people have different standards. Maybe Aarons choice helped protect people who follow in his footsteps.