4 ms·

> Swartz was threatened with up to 35 years and then more charges were added bringing the potential up to 50 years This never happened.

wtallis 6y ago
There are copious news reports from the time that state the charges filed against him carried those maximum penalties. It happened. The prosecutors did eventually state that they would not seek maximum penalties, but that's not a guarantee, and it's not something that was communicated at the time the charges were initially brought against him.
- ryanlol 6y ago
  > There are copious news reports from the time that state the charges filed against him carried those maximum penalties Yes, and those reports fail to accurately communicate the possible range of punishments that Swartz could’ve received. At the time the prosecutors claimed that Swartz could’ve faced at most 7 years. A very harsh, but unlikely sentence.
  - wtallis 6y ago
    > At the time the prosecutors claimed that Swartz could’ve faced at most 7 years. From what I can find, "at the time" here means at the time of the plea bargain offer, not at the time he was charged, or at the time they added more charges.
    - ryanlol 6y ago
      Are you saying that the sentencing guidelines changed during the trial? Suggesting that Swartz was threatened with a 35-year sentence requires some extraordinary mental gymnastics.
      - ionwake 6y ago
        I’m not from the US but I remember reading at the time that the max sentence was 50y
        javagram 6y ago
        News articles and press releases from the DOJ often include a theoretical maximum sentence that is unconnected with how a judge will actually assign a sentence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Federal_Sentencing_Guidelines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Federal_Sentenci... A defendant with competent legal counsel (as Aaron Swartz had) would have been informed by them of the likely actual range of the sentence if found guilty.
        ryanlol 6y ago
        Yes, that claim was repeated by many. Doesn’t make it true.

wtallis 6y ago

There are copious news reports from the time that state the charges filed against him carried those maximum penalties. It happened. The prosecutors did eventually state that they would not seek maximum penalties, but that's not a guarantee, and it's not something that was communicated at the time the charges were initially brought against him.

ryanlol 6y ago
> There are copious news reports from the time that state the charges filed against him carried those maximum penalties Yes, and those reports fail to accurately communicate the possible range of punishments that Swartz could’ve received. At the time the prosecutors claimed that Swartz could’ve faced at most 7 years. A very harsh, but unlikely sentence.
- wtallis 6y ago
  > At the time the prosecutors claimed that Swartz could’ve faced at most 7 years. From what I can find, "at the time" here means at the time of the plea bargain offer, not at the time he was charged, or at the time they added more charges.
  - ryanlol 6y ago
    Are you saying that the sentencing guidelines changed during the trial? Suggesting that Swartz was threatened with a 35-year sentence requires some extraordinary mental gymnastics.
    - ionwake 6y ago
      I’m not from the US but I remember reading at the time that the max sentence was 50y
      - javagram 6y ago
        News articles and press releases from the DOJ often include a theoretical maximum sentence that is unconnected with how a judge will actually assign a sentence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Federal_Sentencing_Guidelines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Federal_Sentenci... A defendant with competent legal counsel (as Aaron Swartz had) would have been informed by them of the likely actual range of the sentence if found guilty.
      - ryanlol 6y ago
        Yes, that claim was repeated by many. Doesn’t make it true.