The closet was not locked, so there was no need to break into it.

This is common knowledge about the case, also found in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz#JSTOR

>Opening a closed door or window is a >breaking, even if they are unlocked.

http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/districtco...

So is it your position that trespassing on other's property is now OK if they forget to lock the door?

Trespassing is the whole substantial crime in this case, and it should have ended with an arrest by the Cambridge PD and a fine.

You may have left out the part where Aaron was on the MIT subnet despite being kicked off repeatedly... I don't agree with felony charges but nor was this an instance of mere physical trespassing.

Sampo is just stating the facts as far as I can tell.

OK, then you would receive your share of the blame if that person killed themselves after being hounded by the prosecutors you aided.

So the US should stop prosecuting crimes if there is a worry that person might be mentally unstable?

No, but the US absolutely should stop using plea-bargaining as a way to bully people into not going to trial, and then retaliating against people who dare to exercise their right to a trial by adding additional charges against them after plea bargaining. While we are at it, we should reign in the cost of actually exercising the right to a trial -- Aaron lost his fortune defending himself from the government, which is more than most Americans could hope to do.

See, the problem here is that we are talking about giving aid to overly aggressive prosecutors, whose entire careers are devoted to undermining civil rights and destroying their targets. If that is the sort of prosecution you are aiding, yes, you should share in the blame for what happens to the prosecutor's victims.

I think it is fairly uncontroversial to say that the US criminal justice system is a joke. Very few cases go to court (and thus juries) because of the huge amount of power lea bargaining gives to the state.

If you are the aggrieved party, and the punishment the law is meting out is ridiculously out of proportion to the harm done to you, you have some responsibility to speak up.

We already factor mental stability into both sentencing and convictions.

I find that hard to believe. Many prison systems are now the largest providers of mental health services in their various states because so many people with mental illness are imprisoned.