Aaron could manage the trial if only he was regularly going to some sort of psychotherapy and was taking medicaments. The trial only facilitated his inner problems. Also he was primarily a hacker, and his biggest accomplishment is not JSTOR but RSS specification and web.py.
RIP Aaron
As another example, take Mohamed Bouazizi. He was clearly a very sick man, to light himself on fire like he did.
But the sensationalist press decided to focus---not on his mental illness, which was the only thing to blame for his death---but instead on scapegoating the Tunisian government who rightfully confiscated a few pieces of his property.
EDIT: I'm afraid people aren't understanding the tone of this comment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNvi6xG-5Y
In my mind, nothing more than a month of social work is the justified response to his act. I'm sure most people would agree.
However this is not what happened. He faced up to 35 years in prison, he faced being financially ruined by the case and he faced the option to unwillingly 'force' the people who love him (friends and family) to also face financial issues to help him fight this case.
This would cause problem in any reasonable person.
Why are you both you and the parent suggesting that it is crazy to kill yourself ? It is not crazy. Suicide sometimes is the best way out.
I would rather face death than 35 years in prison. I also understand why someone wouldn't plaid guilty when they are not guilty, in particular if that still means I have to do up to 6 months in jail.
I heard many times people saying I rather die free than live as a prisoner.
Isn't this cultural bias? In this light, Quanc Duc(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc), the monk of the famous "lit myself on fire in protest" picture must had to be a clinical mental anything, too, no?
The anger you see is about the trial having him pushed over the edge, which is almost certainly true if at least to a certain degree.
We'll never know whether Aaron would've taken his life without the trial as well, but now we will never get to find out.
Aaron had depression regardless of the trial, granted. I think it's quite natural to be depressed given the state of things.
Suicide is another thing altogether, I'm depressed at times but I've never thought of suicide but as I said in other comments in the same situation I would probably be at risk.
And rightly so. In jail I'm not going to help anybody and with my (and perhaps my beloved ones) life financially ruined with a criminal record doesn't really allow anyone to continue any quest to improve things.
His death maybe helped more than him going to jail and everyone forgetting about him. I wonder if this was his plan.
Another possible plan could have been: Go to trial and proclaim innocence. Get a guilty verdict and proclaim innocence. Go to the appeal court and proclaim innocence. Go to the supreme court a.p.i.. Start a hunger strike a.p.i.. Get a reduction of the sentence a.p.i.. Offer to create free software for charity institutions a.p.i.. Get the disallowed by the penitentiary system a.p.i.. Try to start a vocational school in jail to help rehabilitate the inmates a.p.i.. Also denied a.p.i.. Get out on parole a.p.i.. Give as many conferences about the case a.p.i..
In each of these steps there is a new to publish and get coverage in the media and explain that the laws were unjust. And each time explain his position about the restrictions of some information. It's like a PR campaign. Some messages only are understood after a lot of repetitions.
I understand that it's easier to say "just go to jail and start a pr campaign" that really doing it. It was a difficult situation and I don't want to judge him. But I don't think that suicide was obviously the best alternative.
And as I say in another comment: Some people did important things after incarceration or unjust persecution:
Nelson Mandela: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
Galileo Galilei: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei