Cyrus Farivar at Ars Technica:
Government formally drops charges against Aaron Swartz
Government formally drops charges against Aaron Swartz
In the wake of the tragic suicide of Aaron Swartz, the United States Attorney decided to formally drop the pending charges against the 26-year-old information hacktivist.
"In support of this dismissal, the government states that Mr. Swartz died on January 11, 2013," wroteCarmen Ortiz, the United States Attorney for the District Court of Massachusetts.
Swartz faced legal charges after he infamously downloaded a huge cache of documents from JSTOR. Over the weekend, Swartz' family said the aggressive legal tactics of the US Attorney's office contributed to his suicide.
The outpouring of grief has continued well into Monday, as even those who didn't know Swartz well (myself included) are shocked that someone so young and talented could feel so much pressure from the justice system that he would be compelled to take his own life. One computer engineering student, John Atkinson, wrote an eloquent post on Sunday that Swartz' death has been on his mind over the last few days—even though he didn't know Swartz personally, nor had he heard of Swartz prior to the arrest.
Swartz' funeral will be held in Highland Park, Illinois on Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 10am CST—many tech luminaries, family, and friends are expected to be in attendance.
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