(archived from January 11, 2014)
by Scott
Creighton
What exactly was
Aaron Swartz’ crime against humanity? Was it really that he
“liberated” some academic papers from MIT in order to make them
available without cost on the internet? Is that why the prosecution
hit him with 14 felony charges facing 35 years in prison or was it
something else?
Aaron Swartz was
found hanged in his Brooklyn apartment a year ago today. Many,
including those who profess to honor his memory and his activism,
parrot the official talking points about Mr. Swartz saying he took
his own life rather than face the possibility of going to prison.
That story is
bullshit and anyone repeating it, ANYONE,
is NOT to be believed in any fashion. Lest we forget:
“During plea
talks held in the months before his death, federal prosecutors
told Aaron Swartz and his attorney that the computer prodigy must
spend six months behind bars and plead guilty to 13
federal crimes in order to resolve the criminal case short of a
trial.” Boston.com
article from 1/14/13
“The best
deal the prosecutors would offer was four months in prison
with Swartz pleading guilty to 13 felonies. And they warned
Peters that his client had better take it while he still could.
“They told
me over and over again that the offer had been on the table,”
Peters says. “And any future offer would be less attractive.”
Daily
Beast 1/15/13
Granted, that is
the defense attorney’s statements on the matter of the deal offered
to Aaron Swartz prior to his “suicide”. Here is what the
prosecutor herself said: