Slashdot Mirror
Aaron Swartz Case: Deja Vu All Over Again For MIT
theodp writes "On Saturday, questions for MIT's Aaron Swartz investigation were posted on Slashdot with the hope that MIT'ers might repost some to the MIT Swartz Review site. So it's good to see that MIT's Hal Abelson, who is leading the analysis of MIT's involvement in the matter, is apparently open to this workaround to the ban on questions from outsiders. In fact, on Sunday Abelson himself reposted an interesting question posed by Boston College Law School Prof. Sharon Beckman: 'What, if anything, did MIT learn from its involvement in the federal prosecution of its student David LaMacchia back in 1994?' Not much, it would appear. LaMacchia, an apparent student of Abelson's whose defense team included Beckman, was indicted in 1994 and charged with the 'piracy of an estimated million dollars' in business and entertainment computer software after MIT gave LaMacchia up to the FBI. LaMacchia eventually walked from the charges, thanks to what became known as the LaMacchia Loophole, which lawmakers took pains to close. 'MIT collaborated with the FBI to wreck LaMacchia's life,' defense attorney Harvey Silverglate charged in 1995 after a judge dismissed the case. 'I hope that this case causes a lot of introspection on the part of MIT's administration. Unfortunately, I doubt it will.'"
To the dispassionate and disinterested outside observer, a mentally disturbed man committed suicide. The only one at fault is the mentally disturbed man.
I've long believed that suicide is nobody's fault except for the one who committed the act. However, I very much want to blame the DA for pushing him to commit suicide. I realize it's an emotional response, but there must be some basis in fact. At what point does provoking someone who then commits suicide become the moral and ethical responsibility of the provocateur?
I know I'm responding to a troll, but it hits upon an issue I've been thinking about for some time. It's well known how DAs threaten disproportionate punishments in order to get a plea bargain. And it's easy to see how this might get someone who was previously not seriously considering suicide to start doing so. Where should the line be drawn? Online/offline bullying? Threats of imprisonment? Threats of physical violence and/or torture? Or is it never someone else's fault?
We could use the same logic to charge a hunter hunting without hunting license with the first degree multiple murders. After all he could have use the same blatant disregard of the law to shoot every one he could. Currently it is a misdemeanour with a pathetic 1 year in prison plus fine. Worse, those psychopathic serial killers are generally only fined.
MIT would not do a plea deal and wanted him to go to prison instead, unlike JSTOR. You know nothing.