> As Lessig reported, the plea bargain would have meant pleading guilty to a felony
Felonies can be expunged. See Randall Schwartz's case, for example.
Felonies can be expunged. See Randall Schwartz's case, for example.
Did Swartz have a similar issue? Or was he unable to bear the thought of being called names by that paragon of moral legitimacy known as the US government?
Even ignoring all of that, there is the factor of being forced to submit before an unjust power. The "felon" assignment did not represent just a label, but also total submission. Just summing this up as a problem with his "ego" may seem a good way to marginalize this consideration, but it is incredibly transparent.
Is the "moving internationally" issue a question of travel or permanent residency?
I get how a felony conviction might be a big deal for someone with a GED and no money and no connections. But Swartz had lots of connections and lots of money and was widely respected in professional circles. I really can't see any startup that he wanted to work for rejecting him over his felony conviction. And while some owners might not want to rent to people with violent felony records, I'm having trouble seeing many owners reject an accomplished man with money and recommendation letters from Larry Lessig and Cory Doctrow.
Both
They seemed to have a pretty strong case against him, which means ending up with a felony label was pretty much a foregone conclusion if it went to trial.
A felony on your record is indeed a big deal. However, when you have the connections he did, and the reputation he did, a felony is not necessarily a "destroy your future" type big deal. Plenty of tech companies would have still jumped at the chance to hire him, for instance.
He was going to almost certainly end up with the felony tag regardless of whether or not he took the plea. Taking the plea gets him out and lets him get right to building his life back, and working on getting his record expunged.
Going to jail for, say, 10 years, not only delays all that by 10 years, but also makes it much harder. 10 years is a long time in the world of internet fame. Connections and reputations fade.