Post by JAI
Award winning composer, vocalist, and superheroine
Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz, age 26 was a leading activist for the campaign against SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), cofounder of Reddit, coinventor of RSS, and a highly active digital activist for open data and freedom of information sharing! He was too young to leave this world the way he did and we have to question why does such a brilliant mind decide to leave it all behind. Maybe it was the fact that “Mr. Swartz was indicted last Thursday by the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Carmen M. Ortiz, and the indictment was unsealed Tuesday. The charges could result in up to 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine” says the NYTimes Bits Blog. That is a huge sentence to have to face when you believe that the information you stole would benefit society and help people who really need it. It is a sad day today and we will remember how hard he fought for the freedoms our government is trying to take away!
Farewell Aaron Swartz. We will miss your open and intelligent mind. May you rest in peace.
Sources:
Venture Beat – Web Pioneer and Activist
he was murdered by the feds. you know it, we know it, THEY KNOW IT! for real, kill yourself over an indictment?
That thought did cross my mind, but if I was facing 35 years in prison and had a history of mental depression it might be plausible. I do think that this was definitely a case of over reaching of our prosecutorial system! JSTOR decided not to press charges but MIT brought 13 felony counts and up to $1 million in fines as well as 35 years in prison. How many murderers, rapists, and other hardened criminals are faced with far lesser charges? The charges did not fit the crime! Aaron’s contribution to the Internet and humanity should have far outweighed his crime of information liberation. His life an intelligence will be sorely missed.