News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twitter to Defend His Wife. Parent comment

Re:IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twit... by philwelch on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @11:51AM (#5061174)
It's civil disobedience. Accepting six months as a prisoner of conscience would have done about as much good for what Swartz believed in than whatever else he was hoping to accomplish. It would have been a sacrifice, but not one worse than death.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twit... by marekmroz on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @12:09PM (#5061295)
How can you be a prisoner of conscience when plea bargain requires that you admit your guilt?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twit... by philwelch on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @12:23PM (#5061394)
Pleading guilty doesn't signify anything other than admitting that you are guilty of breaking the law. It doesn't signify that you agree that the law itself is just. Thoreau said, "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison."
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twit... by subsystem on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @12:25PM (#5061410)
Do you know if six months was the only condition of the plea?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twit... by philwelch on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @12:28PM (#5061430)
I don't. In fact, the fact that Swartz committed suicide indicates either that the deal on the table wasn't just a six month deal, or that Swartz was, psychologically, in an extraordinarily bad place. It's hard to fathom the idea someone would commit suicide over federal charges when they had the option of taking six months at Club Fed.
[ Parent | on HN ]