[senko]

Thank you for the detailed reasoning and explanation.

I was unaware of these nuances, and remember at the time there was a lot of talk of using the legal sledgehammer to set an example (possibly the same media echo chamber you mention).

[tptacek]

There's still a lot to the argument that they were taking a sledgehammer to Swartz in order to make an example of him. It's just that no part of the real argument involves him doing 50 years.