DEAD. Murder? usa internet LAW REFORM REQUIRED! |
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Message boards : Politics : DEAD. Murder? usa internet LAW REFORM REQUIRED!
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A very sad final end to some very overly heavy handed bullying: | |
| ID: 1327908 · | |
Would have received a +1 but for the above..... It's also happening here & in Europe. ____________ | |
| ID: 1327977 · | |
Only in the USA?... Your examples for something so trivial initiating such dire extraordinary threats of punitive 'justice'? Another that comes to mind is that recently of Gary McKinnon: ... If extradited to the US and charged, McKinnon would face up to 70 years in jail. He has expressed fears that he could be sent to Guantanamo Bay... That example of persecution was strung out over about ten years and sent the victim suicidal. Again, prosecuted by some very zealous 'lawyers' hiding in the USA... What and who next? All in the USA... Dismayed, Martin ____________ Mandriva Linux A user friendly OS! See new freedom Mageia2 The Future is what We make IT (GPLv3) | |
| ID: 1328001 · | |
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Was it copyrighted? | |
| ID: 1328003 · | |
Was it copyrighted? If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. ____________ | |
| ID: 1328063 · | |
Only in the USA?... Sorry I bash the US of A when its deserved & compliment also when its deserved. Your statement about "over zealous lawyers hiding in the USA" is insulting even though it may be true! Does the name "Theresa May" ring a bell with you? Those very same lawyers wouldn't have had a leg to stand on if she did her job correctly! ____________ | |
| ID: 1328104 · | |
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So, as further details trickle out, the story gets worse: | |
| ID: 1328116 · | |
... exploited the electronic network of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to download most of the database of Jstor, a non-profit group that digitises academic journals and articles. He did not share or sell the material – he later handed it back So it is okay if you shoplift but give it back to the store after you leave the store. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time ... BTW, did he pay them back for the data charges they had to pay for the bandwidth? Did he pay them back for the increased electricity costs to keep the hard drives spinning? Everyone here should remember that was a key item in the flap over NEZ. ____________ | |
| ID: 1328189 · | |
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... Free access to academic research – the system Mr Swartz advocated – could bring public benefits. It would enable anyone to read, analyse and build upon privately and publicly funded research. However, someone would still need to pay for it and the costs to universities such as MIT and Oxford would rise, not fall. | |
| ID: 1328248 · | |
... I admit the penaltys were to harsh, But he needed more than a slap on the hand too. THIRTY FIVE YEARS too harsh? For the sake of academic papers that are supposed to be publicly available in the first place! Why not chop off limbs and decapitate and be done?... Sounds like some in the USA are making a fast buck at going Biblical with their bullying threats... All still highly disproportionate and it understandably drove the victim to suicide. Meanwhile, the perpetrators get their pay checks for being unscrupulously OTT nasty... Whichever way you look at the circumstances, the proceedings were way way OTT. Only in the USA... Dismayed, Martin OTT: OVER THE TOP! ____________ Mandriva Linux A user friendly OS! See new freedom Mageia2 The Future is what We make IT (GPLv3) | |
| ID: 1328337 · | |
For the sake of academic papers that are supposed to be publicly available in the first place! Says Martin and Swartz. US Copyright Office certified they were not publicly available. Penal code says you don't use someone's computer without permission. Martin, do you want unauthorized use on your computer? Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. ____________ | |
| ID: 1328353 · | |
... Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. So let's see past your Hang 'em Judge Jeffreys rhetoric: Fans of dead data 'liberator' Swartz press Obama to sack prosecutor A new online petition has called for the firing of US attorney Carmen Ortiz for pursuing Aaron Swartz with charges that could have put him in prison for at least three decades. Meanwhile, Democrat congresswoman Zoe Lofgren has drawn up a new bill called "Aaron's Law" to amend the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act used to prosecute Swartz until his death last week. Internet prodigy Swartz, 26, took his life on Friday in the midst of a lengthy computer fraud case against him. The charges were brought after he copied 4.8 million scientific articles from the nonprofit journal archive JSTOR to allegedly redistribute online. In the days after he was found dead at his New York home on Friday, Swartz's family said their son's suicide was "the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach". Now Lofgren has announced on Reddit, the immensely popular discussion website Swartz helped build, her intention to put forward Aaron's Law. The bill aims to tighten up the Act's definition of fraud. "There’s no way to reverse the tragedy of Aaron’s death, but we can work to prevent a repeat of the abuses of power he experienced," she wrote. "The government was able to bring such disproportionate charges against Aaron because of the broad scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the wire fraud statute. ... "Using the law in this way could criminalise many everyday activities and allow for outlandishly severe penalties." ... Various of the comments to that article make for interesting reading: what I find bizzare is that JSTOR (the aggrieved party) actually urged the prosecutor to drop the charges. I understand why the state has the right to prosecute without the consent of the aggrieved but cases such as this make me wonder for a moment if that shouldn't be changed. Re: what I find bizzare That prosecutor must have thought that "making an example" of somebody famous, in a Corporate America friendly sort of way, would make for a cracking career move. Re: Time to get real "10-30 years in prison and fines/legal fees that would bankrupt J.R. Eweing is utterly disproportionate. Aaron Swartz wasn't a serial rapist, murderer or child molester - any of whch might deserve such punishment. He was a misguided guy who broke the law." But hacking and/or copyright infringment is a far more serious crime than rape, murder or child molestation... So... It had to take Swartz offing himself for someone to actually propose limiting the CFAA so that something exaggerated like this doesn't happen. I hope it doesn't take, say, Jammie Thomas suiciding as well for copyright maddness to be fixed as well! Something's wrong when distributing files earns 30 in the slammer + millions in fines, and songs cost $10k each. More info and opinions here on Aaron Swartz case Folks, In order to hear some more valid viewpoints on Aaron's so called crime, you should probably read some of the articles here: http://boingboing.net/tag/aaronsw particularly those written by Cory Doctorow and here: http://unhandled.com/2013/01/12/the-truth-about-aaron-swartzs-crime/ That page is by Alex Stamos who is well known in the cybersecurity business and who was going to testify on Aaron Swartz behalf in his trial. In his considered opinion, there was no crime of trespass, nothing was "stolen" and Aaron even returned the documents he had downloaded back to JSTOR who dropped the charges and the Fed's continued the prosecution even though without Jstor pressing charges there can be no further prosecution. MIT's network (wired or wireless) was open to all just like free wifi so there was no trespass. The Fed's wanted a guilty verdict and the piled on the charges threatening him with sentencing up to 35 years in prison if he did not accept a "guilty" plea of 33 charges but only 6 months in jail. This is a common tactic in the US justice system where the cost (both mental and monetary) of fighting such a case will take a toll on the plaintiff to the point where they usually capitulate and take a guilty plea just to be rid of the problem. The trouble is that people of principles like Aaron usually don't want to be tagged as guilty when they believe they are not guilty. This wore him down financially and mentally until something broke and he committed suicide. Meanwhile, a little sooth saying and backtracking by the prosecutors now accused? "us_attorney_defends_swartz_prosecution": Swartz prosecutor: We only pushed for six months in the cooler US attorney Carmen Ortiz, who led the fraud case against Aaron Swartz until his suicide last week, has defended her prosecution of the internet prodigy. ... ... Swartz faced 13 felony charges including counts of wire fraud, computer fraud and recklessly damaging a protected computer, which could cumulatively carry a sentence of more than 30 years. The federal attorney's statement, the first time she's been drawn to comment on Swartz's death, also offered her sympathies to his family and friends. "I know that there is little I can say to abate the anger felt by those who believe that this office’s prosecution of Mr Swartz was unwarranted and somehow led to the tragic result of him taking his own life," she said. And a few comments from that article for what to me appear to be career damage limitation crocodile tears: They can say what they want and try to defend themselves over the case. You take your victim as you find them, Swartz became the victim in this, but these prosecutors have skin thicker than battleship armour. Sadly it is unlikely they will be tormented by this. Obama's Justice Department is Cruel and Vindictive. Here in Boston, the news is more disturbing. This was originally a local matter for MIT security and Boston police. It was a simple illegal entry violation for breaking and entering into an MIT storage closet where he had his laptop stashed,. Swartz would have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, maybe a fine. But then... ... Six months later, Obama's Justice Department tripled the intimidation with a 13-count indictment. The Boston Globe reported that the DOJ was pushing for the full 35-year sentence. These journals were paid for by Federal grants, and BY LAW must be freely available. ... Re: @AC 16:49 How can it be fair when innocent people are effectively forced into pleading guilty as the between the cost of defending yourself (forget the public defenders) and the sentences being so ridiculous. ... @Fibbles - Re: Prosecutor not to blame What crime ? We was entitled to download those articles but he did it too fast instead of downloading one at the time. MIT has a liberal access policy allowing anyone free access to these documents without any authentication all you need is to walk on their campus and plug your laptop into their network. Is this a crime which deserves 30 years in prison ? This is exactly what prosecution did, they ignored all this evidence and went for the harshest punishments. ... Some words US Attorney Ortiz "makes clear" that she decides what is reasonable and appropriate for her office and staff to do. Not you. So take your public outcry about injustice and stuff it. "I've looked into it and found that, after further review, I did the right thing." So... In the USA you must chop your hands off lest you dare type anything? Rip out your tongue also lest you speak out of turn? All just my own random personal opinions as must be the case... Disgusted, Martin ____________ Mandriva Linux A user friendly OS! See new freedom Mageia2 The Future is what We make IT (GPLv3) | |
| ID: 1328423 · | |
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Ferociously damning and Damned? | |
| ID: 1328427 · | |
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| ID: 1328431 · | |
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http://about.jstor.org/statement-swartz we must be careful stewards of the information entrusted to us by the owners and creators of that content. Sounds to me like the material is covered by copyright and not freely available! Some fail to understand what a jury trial is. Perhaps in their country the prosecutor's word is the final say. Not so in the USA. Here the prosecutor has to prove the case to the jury and juries are free to nullify. If the prosecutor overcharges they run the risk the jury will nullify in disgust. If they undercharge they are doing the people a disservice. Martin says he broke and entered a cabinet. Under most state penal codes that is FELONY burglary and will net you around a five year sentence. Contrast that with the six month MISDEMEANOR sentence that he was offered in a plea agreement. BTW a misdemeanor conviction doesn't automatically bar you from professional status jobs such as corporate boards or professional licenses. Ask any con if they would rather serve time in a state pen or a federal pen. When you go out and do an act of civil disobedience there may be consequences. They government may set the dogs lose on you. (Ask about Selma.) Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. I more wonder if there is a malpractice case in this against his lawyer for not explaining how the system works and allowing him to become overly concerned with the big numbers which always get lower. Either the judge throws stuff out of the prosecution does because it realizes as it preps its case for the jury it doesn't have the evidence. ____________ | |
| ID: 1328455 · | |
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In our system even if one is acquitted you have lost. The cost of defense is quite impressive even if no crime is found. | |
| ID: 1328489 · | |
For the sake of academic papers that are supposed to be publicly available in the first place! Is JStor free? | |
| ID: 1328492 · | |
For the sake of academic papers that are supposed to be publicly available in the first place! http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp the Publisher Sales Service Not so free. Authorized Users' use of JSTOR implies no rights to Intellectual Property ... Very copyrighted. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. ____________ | |
| ID: 1328522 · | |
In our system even if one is acquitted you have lost. The cost of defense is quite impressive even if no crime is found. You have the right to an attorney if you can not afford one Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. ____________ | |
| ID: 1328524 · | |
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Which led me to ask right up front ^ if the stuff was copyrighted. It seems it was. | |
| ID: 1328702 · | |
Message boards : Politics : DEAD. Murder? usa internet LAW REFORM REQUIRED!
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