Posted on 02/15/2013 6:54:51 PM PST by NoLibZone
The case of computer whiz Aaron Swartz -- who committed suicide after federal prosecutors charged him with 13 felony fraud counts -- has become, for some, emblematic of how overzealous prosecutors are going too far in pursuit of a win.
The shocking suicide -- the 26-year-old co-creator of RSS and Reddit hanged himself last month -- has led to calls to rein in the practice of overcharging defendants.
Swartz could have been punished with up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines -- a greater penalty than some murderers face. And it was all for downloading millions of academic documents that were available at the M.I.T. Library for a small fee.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz issued a statement after Swartz's suicide that read in part, "At no time did this office ever seek -- or ever tell Mr. Swartz's attorneys that it intended to seek -- maximum penalties under the law."
Still, some scholars believe the Swartz prosecution is symptomatic of a fundamental shift in tactics at U.S. attorneys' offices across the country, as well as for local prosecutors.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/15/win-at-all-costs-suicide-computer-whiz-prompts-look-at-federal-prosecutors/#ixzz2L1hIluUt
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Anvilhead: “I was told by my lawyer, “There is nothing reasonable or fair about the law”. My response was, “Then why does it command our allegiance?”.”
Bump!
Great article.
It now falls to ordinary citizens to end this abuse of power.
Go to paragraph 1. Congress gets away with their crap because ordinary citizens refuse to stop it. Ordinary citizens could rein in those neo-Nazis tomorrow, but they won't because it suits the ordinary citizens' laziness, complacency, torpor, cowardice, and/or quest for money and power (income, status and career).
In other words, the American people themselves are to blame. They accept increasing statism, they surrender their sovereign citizenship and accept serfdom. They meekly pay whatever taxes are demanded, for the "privilege" of going about their lives, pursuing their careers. They pay the salaries of the prosecutors, the judges, the legislators, the tax collectors, the TSA, the regulators, the President.
It is not that Congress refuses to stop some abuse. It is that we do not get together in an effective force and stop this monstrously abusive government.
Productive Americans -- those who pay taxes -- love law abiding, more than they love liberty. So they can't be expected to defy the law and simply refuse to pay taxes another year. But what explains their failure to remedy matters legally, by refusing to work?
In the past, when the nation's survival was at stake, Americans put down their pens and plows, and forfeited their incomes, and prepared to forfeit their very lives, for the sake of America.
Today, the nation's survival is at stake. What are they doing?
Then I guess the legal question is “cui bono?” Aside from a generic, Gramscian desire to destroy the successful, who was actually gaining a professional or political benefit by prosecuting this guy in the absence of any valid legal reason to do so?
Then why do we render what it commands?
Why do we value "law abiding" over liberty? Because in the short term, it's easier and less risky -- and therefore more appealing to the lazy and timid.
In the long term, our children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences. Yet we denounce legislators for heaping debt on the not-yet-born. We -- not the legislators -- are heaping chains and darkness on them.
An aquaintance went through delay after delay on a felony case which everyone knew was totally a lie and the guy was innocent but the state ruined his life and his family’s lives. They put the guy through hell and were helped by the lies of the local media. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and committed suicide. Of course, the media used his booking photo to triumphfully announce his death when he’d spent all of 3 hours behind bars during the initial arrest a year before. It’s all a game to these people.
It’s the same as the “slip and fall” scam. Companies will settle for a few grand to avoid the court costs.
Here in NJ the relationship between cops/firemen/teachers and those that employ/pay them has been turned on its head; they squeeze the life out of property owners with no regard for anything else (and they operate under ancient staffing models, geared towrds the large manufacturing areas of the state that are basically empty “brownfields” now). They are our upper middle class, while the real middle class is fleeing as fast as they can. Thankfully, the money ran out and thousands were laid off (and they have no job skills to keep them on the taxpayers’ teat). Most of NJ has volunteer firemen anyway; the real economic toll comes from cops (retiring in their mid-40s) and teachers (receiving $80K+ at 45 years old to work 6 hours a day, 180 days per year).
To their credit, our local firemen were the only ones to grant concessions to save the jobs of the newest members; not so with cops & teachers. Many of these people intermarry because nobody working in the private sector could ever understand or respect their auto-worker like union mentality; they have become a class unto themselves, and only affirmative action nonsense has reduced the number of families where several generations lived off the taxpayer teat.
“We fully deserve the nation we have and are handing down to our children.”
Yeah, I bet lots of Kapos said the same thing.
“It is that we do not get together in an effective force and stop this monstrously abusive government.”
Ain’t that the truth.
Conservatives suffer under sky-high property taxes because they don’t attend county board meetings.
Communists are in public schools because conservatives don’t attend schoolboard meetings.
Communities are invaded by jackboot cops because conservatives refuse to get involved and vote in a constitutional sheriff to protect their property and interests.
The Founders warned us that liberty requires constant vigilance. Conservatives are failing in that duty and may lose everything if they don’t get active, organize and participate.
We have 3rd generation welfare slugs who go to jail for 5 years after killing someone yet the AG was threatening 30+ years for this man who was a major contributor. That's a lot of moral relativity, isn't it.
Yes it certainly is!
*
[ Follow-up on # 13.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2989045/posts?page=13#13 ]
Late ping (again,) but for those who are interested, check out # 26 , or read it here:
Black and Whitey: How the Feds Disable Criminal Defense
Forbes ^ | 1/03/2013 | Harvey Silverglate
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2974956/posts
Thanks, Slings and Arrows.
My pleasure.
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