[clicks]

    But he essentially implied that a black guy fighting 
    segregation during the height of communist paranoia and 
    racial tension in the 1960's could count on a fairer 
    shake from the justice system than a wealthy white kid in 
    2013 with the support of a rich and influential segment 
    of society.

I get what you're trying to say... but I'm not sure if the latter point of that statement is so spot on. Manning was a wealthy white kid with the support of a rich and influential segment of society... as was Aaron Swartz, and yet they were both met with the heavy side of law.

[rayiner]

Manning was a soldier and faced the military justice system, which is necessarily harsh. With Schwartz, we'll never know what kind of shake he would have gotten--a judge never even got to hear his plea.