This is a fantasy, both in the likelihood of occuring

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-aaron-...

Hacktivist's suicide intensifies criticism of U.S. attorney, MIT

But his suicide by hanging Friday has also stoked a
politically malignant aftermath for the prosecutors
pursuing 13 felony charges against him in a trial that was
set to begin in a month. Some said his death could be a
watershed moment in the ongoing intellectual property
debate over the things people share and create, and how
they share and create them.

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/01/13/the-brilliant-mind-righteous-...

You should know his death is a good reason to revisit the
1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the law under which he
was prosecuted, since it is far too broad, and to take a
hard look at Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz,
whose office prosecuted Aaron with such recklessly
disproportionate vigor, and who is reportedly considering a
run for governor.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732458150457823...

To some in the Internet community, it was a Robin Hood-like
stunt.Prosecutors disagreed and threatened to put him in
prison for more than three decades.

Mr. Swartz's lawyer, Elliot Peters, first discussed a
possible plea bargain with Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen
Heymann last fall. In an interview Sunday, he said he was
told at the time that Mr. Swartz would need to plead guilty
to every count, and the government would insist on prison
time. Mr. Peters said he spoke to Mr. Heymann again last
Wednesday in another attempt to find a compromise. The
prosecutor, he said, didn't budge.

Mr. Heymann didn't reply to requests for comment Sunday.

The Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office declined to
comment Sunday, saying it wanted to respect the family's
privacy. But in a press release from July 2011 when the
charges in the case were announced, U.S. Attorney Carmen
Ortiz said, "Stealing is stealing, whether you use a
computer command or a crowbar."

No comment from Heymann. A "hard look" at Ortiz. Politically malignant aftermath. Doesn't sound good.

This is a CAT-4 shitstorm. Getting phone calls from the Wall Street Journal about why your aggressive prosecution caused the death of a young computer genius is not what Heymann and Ortiz signed up for. They were gunning for Bostonian of the Year, stuff like that. So already there is a deterrent effect. If and when the politicians get involved and call for an investigation into disproportionate sentencing, it will kick up to CAT-5. Moreover, there are 2300 articles like that on Google News now. Go check. The more calls for resignation, the more she becomes a public embarrassment to Obama, the more likely she is to be put on leave.

Now, pretty much everything else you've posted in these threads has been either trivially wrong ("federal prosecutors have no discretion") or a naked argument in favor of unlimited state power. But this is at least a prediction about a future outcome.

So let's make a bet. Prediction: Carmen Ortiz will be at a minimum put on administrative leave and will likely be forced to resign by the end of February. If I win, you never darken Hacker News' doorstep again. If you win, I in turn stop posting and you can push HN towards what appears to be your ideal venue: a space for lawyers rather than hackers, a space for people who sympathize with the federal prosecutor who hounded a hacker to his death.

Deal?

PS:

1) JSTOR is not on the same side as MIT. And MIT by their recent statement is not on the same side as the prosecutor.

2) Aaron never admitted guilt/plead guilty.

3) The charges weren't "dropped", they were rendered moot by his death.