> People are upset that Aaron Swartz faced losing the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury, or own a firearm, penalties entirely unrelated and disproportionate to the crime.
The "Felony" idea comes from the maximum possible sentence for a crime. CFAA has been on the books since like 1986 so as soon as Aaron decided to run afoul of its provisions that was a done deal.
As it turns out many states have provisions to restore voting rights to felons, firearm rights, etc. But this type of case is one of the few things prosecutors don't have discretion on, except by dropping charges completely (which I understand is what you think should happen, but that's not going to match what most of the rest of the country thinks, where fairness of justice and due process are at least theoretically the ideal).
> This debate has gone on long enough; most of HN disagrees with your position.
Oh! Is HN the decider now? I browse this site and I wasn't aware my opinion had been pre-determined for me. Are there any other HN-mandated opinions I should adopt now that this question has been raised? Am I still allowed to like Microsoft products? Are iPhones mandatory or can I keep my Android?
The "Felony" idea comes from the maximum possible sentence for a crime. CFAA has been on the books since like 1986 so as soon as Aaron decided to run afoul of its provisions that was a done deal.
As it turns out many states have provisions to restore voting rights to felons, firearm rights, etc. But this type of case is one of the few things prosecutors don't have discretion on, except by dropping charges completely (which I understand is what you think should happen, but that's not going to match what most of the rest of the country thinks, where fairness of justice and due process are at least theoretically the ideal).
> This debate has gone on long enough; most of HN disagrees with your position.
Oh! Is HN the decider now? I browse this site and I wasn't aware my opinion had been pre-determined for me. Are there any other HN-mandated opinions I should adopt now that this question has been raised? Am I still allowed to like Microsoft products? Are iPhones mandatory or can I keep my Android?