Boston Globe reflects on Federal prosecution leading to Brooklyn suicide of web whiz Aaron Swartz
The Boston Globe editorial, Jan. 18:
One can never know what drives another person to suicide, especially someone who, like Internet-freedom activist Aaron Swartz, suffered from crippling depression. In the aftermath of his death last week, it is unfair for his supporters to pin the blame on U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office was prosecuting Swartz on a variety of criminal charges, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which by some accounts encouraged the government to take a tough line.
At the same time, the fact that Swartz’s death was his own choice does not mean the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the university acted properly. Ortiz’s office, at least, did not; the government was far too intent on giving Swartzprison time for offenses that appear quite minor on close examination.