Absolutely not, he should have checked with a lawyer first about how to accomplish his objectives within the framework of the law. Then he would not be in jail

Absolutely not, he should have checked with a lawyer first about how to accomplish his objectives within the framework of the law. Then he would not be in jail but instead making lots of money. It's really not that hard to compile a list of email addresses from a public API in a way that doesn't violate the law.