4 ms·

I don't think he's lying, and I don't understand why people seem to use 'lying' as a synonym for 'wrong'. Lying requires an intent to decieve. In this case, the

by grkvlt 11y ago

I don't think he's lying, and I don't understand why people seem to use 'lying' as a synonym for 'wrong'. Lying requires an intent to decieve. In this case, the GP probably believes, albeit incorrectly, that the media reports about the sentence Swartz was likely to recieve were correct. Remember that the 50 year figure was widely reported at the time, often by sources that seemed reliable. Your issue should be with the media outlets that failed to fact-check in favour of a sensational story...

ryanlol 11y ago
Anybody with the most basic understanding of the US legal system should understand that it's obviously not true. You'd expect for someone who is as ready to criticize the system as OP is to actually sort of understand what he's talking about. Honestly, I'm just really pissed because statements like that are actually really harmful as they only work to divert attention from the real issues that need fixing. Some kid killing themselves because they were too scared to face court isn't an issue with the legal system, but with the (mental) healthcare system. (Note that at the time Swartz hadn't even been found guilty, much less sentenced.)
dragonwriter 11y ago
> In this case, the GP probably believes, albeit incorrectly, that the media reports about the sentence Swartz was likely to recieve were correct. I don't think there were any media reports claiming that Swartz was likely to receive anything like the max sentence, only that it was the maximum allowed in the law. Unsophisticated readers may have falsely concluded that Swartz was likely to receive that sentence, but that's not what any of the media reports I saw said. > Remember that the 50 year figure was widely reported at the time, often by sources that seemed reliable. None of the media reports I saw that presented the figure -- as an "up to" figure, invariably -- did so inaccurately, or claimed it was a likely sentence rather than the most extreme theoretically available for the offenses for which he was charged.

by grkvlt 11y ago

ryanlol 11y ago

Anybody with the most basic understanding of the US legal system should understand that it's obviously not true. You'd expect for someone who is as ready to criticize the system as OP is to actually sort of understand what he's talking about. Honestly, I'm just really pissed because statements like that are actually really harmful as they only work to divert attention from the real issues that need fixing. Some kid killing themselves because they were too scared to face court isn't an issue with the legal system, but with the (mental) healthcare system. (Note that at the time Swartz hadn't even been found guilty, much less sentenced.)

dragonwriter 11y ago

> In this case, the GP probably believes, albeit incorrectly, that the media reports about the sentence Swartz was likely to recieve were correct. I don't think there were any media reports claiming that Swartz was likely to receive anything like the max sentence, only that it was the maximum allowed in the law. Unsophisticated readers may have falsely concluded that Swartz was likely to receive that sentence, but that's not what any of the media reports I saw said. > Remember that the 50 year figure was widely reported at the time, often by sources that seemed reliable. None of the media reports I saw that presented the figure -- as an "up to" figure, invariably -- did so inaccurately, or claimed it was a likely sentence rather than the most extreme theoretically available for the offenses for which he was charged.