Another possible plan could have been: Go to trial and proclaim innocence. Get a guilty verdict and proclaim innocence. Go to the appeal court and proclaim innocence. Go to the supreme court a.p.i.. Start a hunger strike a.p.i.. Get a reduction of the sentence a.p.i.. Offer to create free software for charity institutions a.p.i.. Get the disallowed by the penitentiary system a.p.i.. Try to start a vocational school in jail to help rehabilitate the inmates a.p.i.. Also denied a.p.i.. Get out on parole a.p.i.. Give as many conferences about the case a.p.i..
In each of these steps there is a new to publish and get coverage in the media and explain that the laws were unjust. And each time explain his position about the restrictions of some information. It's like a PR campaign. Some messages only are understood after a lot of repetitions.
I understand that it's easier to say "just go to jail and start a pr campaign" that really doing it. It was a difficult situation and I don't want to judge him. But I don't think that suicide was obviously the best alternative.
And as I say in another comment: Some people did important things after incarceration or unjust persecution:
Nelson Mandela: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
Galileo Galilei: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
Aaron had depression regardless of the trial, granted. I think it's quite natural to be depressed given the state of things.
Suicide is another thing altogether, I'm depressed at times but I've never thought of suicide but as I said in other comments in the same situation I would probably be at risk.
And rightly so. In jail I'm not going to help anybody and with my (and perhaps my beloved ones) life financially ruined with a criminal record doesn't really allow anyone to continue any quest to improve things.
His death maybe helped more than him going to jail and everyone forgetting about him. I wonder if this was his plan.