Aaron Swartz receives James Madison Award From American Library Association

The American Library Association Has Given Aaron Swartz Its First Ever ...
Business Insider
Famed Internet activist Aaron Swartz was honored today by the American Library Association. He became the first person to posthumously receive the association's James Madison Award. This is an award for those who champion public access to government ...Yesterday, Swartz's lawyer publicly released a letter sent to the Justice Department that accuses Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Heymann of prosecutorial misconduct. It details the lengths he went to in investigating Swartz and accuses him of coercing Swartz into a guilty plea.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-swartz-granted-posthumous-award-2013-3#ixzz2NfW0Ck4I and http://www.scribd.com/doc/130195421/2013-01-28-Redeacted-OPR

Business Insider

Swartz Gets James Madison Award From American Library Association
Broadcasting & Cable
"I hope that Aaron's death and this award can serve as a wake-up call to the US Congress and the federal government," said Swartz partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman in a statement. "We must no longer allow corporate greed to be the bottleneck to ...

Aaron Swartz to be honored with freedom of ... - CNET News
Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who committed suicide earlier this year while ...Administered by the American Library Association, the award recognizes ...
news.cnet.com/.../aaron-swartz-to-be-honored-with-freedom-o...

American Library Association Honors Aaron Swartz with Madison ...
Today, the American Library Association posthumously awarded activist AaronSwartz the 2013 James Madison Award for his dedication to promoting and ...
www.districtdispatch.org/.../american-library-association-hono...

Swartz Gets James Madison Award From American Library ...
The late Reddit cofounder and Internet activist Aaron Swartz was posthumously awarded the American Library Association's James Madison Award. The award ...
www.broadcastingcable.com/.../492355-Swartz_Gets_James_...

Aaron Swartz Honored by Library Association
The late internet activist Aaron Swartz has been recognized by American LibraryAssociation for his efforts to promote open access to research and government ...
politix.topix.com/.../5115-aaron-swartz-honored-by-library-as...

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Ortiz and Heymann--quite a "pair"

Federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz, who threatened Aaron Swartz with decades in prison.(Credit: U.S. Department of Justice via cnet.com)

Swartz didn't face prison until feds took over case, report says | Politics and Law - CNET News "State prosecutors who investigated the late Aaron Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Middlesex County's district attorney had planned no jail time, "with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner," the report (alternate link) said. "Tragedy intervened when Ortiz's office took over the case to send 'a message.'" The report is likely to fuel an online campaign against Ortiz, who has been criticized for threatening the 26-year-old with decades in prison for allegedly downloading a large quantity of academic papers. An online petition asking President Obama to remove from office Ortiz -- a politically ambitious prosecutor . . . .  the sweeping nature of federal computer crime laws allowed Ortiz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann, who wanted a high-profile computer crime conviction, to pursue felony charges. Heymann threatened the free-culture activist with over 30 years in prison as recently as the week before he killed himself. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat whose district includes the heart of Silicon Valley, has proposed rewriting those laws. The Boston U.S. Attorney's office was looking for "some juicy looking computer crime cases and Aaron's case, sadly for Aaron, fit the bill," Elliot Peters, Swartz's attorney at the Keker & Van Nest law firm, told the Huffington Post. Heymann, Peters says, thought the Swartz case "was going to receive press and he was going to be a tough guy and read his name in the newspaper."

Well, Ortiz and Heymann will be reading their names alright--although probably not in the context they planned.  Apparently, in their arrogance or ignorance, they thought they were above accountability, all-powerful, "untouchable," and could destroy a life without consequences.

We'll see.

And by the way, the Swartz case was not an anomaly in the way this US Attorney office operated--just read the CNET article for more info.

In the meantime, now we've heard from Anonymous.

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