
Petition the Whitehouse to remove Carmen Ortiz from office - olefoo
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-attorney-carmen-ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck
======
danso
Some more context about the prosecutor:

She was named "Bostonian of the Year" for her successful cases against mob
bosses and drug companies:
[http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/01/03/massachusetts-u-s-
atto...](http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/01/03/massachusetts-u-s-attorney-
carmen-ortiz-is-bostonian-of-the-year/)

Out of the 94 U.S. DA offices, her office alone collected ~67% of the total
criminal and civil fines in 2012, mostly owing to the successful prosecution
of drug companies. Her success led to speculation that she would run for
higher office: [http://www.mainjustice.com/2013/01/07/mass-u-s-attorney-
carm...](http://www.mainjustice.com/2013/01/07/mass-u-s-attorney-carmen-ortiz-
says-no-to-run-for-higher-office/)

She is no stranger to being part of a disenfranchised group, as she was the
first Hispanic and first woman to hold the position of U.S. attorney in
Boston. Her first internship was with the DOJ's public integrity unit, created
after Watergate:
[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011...](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/12/30/bostonian_of_the_year_carmen_ortiz_2011/)

She's not of the "evil prosecutor" mold as is commonly thought and her
background, particularly her history of fighting white-collar crime and
corporations, doesn't strike me as someone who is intent on screwing the
little guy over. That said, the seemingly-excessive charges could stem from a
result of misconception and, let's face it, technological ignorance (hacking
sounds bad, period). But in solving the overall problem in the justice system,
let's not attribute to malice what can be attributed to other issues just yet.

\-- One edit: a link to a piece by Aaron on yelling at the machine, rather
than the person: <http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/nummi>

My intent is not to say that the petition is wrong, but to argue that if
people are going to call for action, call it for the right and _productive_
reasons, rather than simplifying cause and effect to just one main person
(even if the buck technically stops with her).

~~~
jordanb
Honestly I don't care if she spends her nights and weekends caring for orphans
and war widows. She's a politician who treated Aaron Swartz as a pawn in the
political game she is playing.

No doubt she intended for her campaign for governor to describe her as a
"staunch defender of intellectual property rights" who, as prosecutor, put a
"dangerous hacker behind bars" for "breaking into MIT and stealing millions of
dollars of federally funded research."

The Obama administration has thrown better people than her out the airlock
because they became political liabilities. We need to add a new rule to the
political rulebook that she's playing by. Ending her career is necessary to
send a lesson to every other prosecutor who sees a guy like Aaron the way a
housecat sees a cornered rat.

~~~
lutze
I think you're missing the point vis a vis "fix the machine, not the person".

The tactics described in the petition are ingrained in the US justice system.
Getting rid of a single prosecutor isn't going to change a damn thing because
the injustices are systemic, not the product of a vindictive individual.

Like Aaron said, shouting at the gears isn't going to fix the machine.

~~~
shiven
_Like Aaron said, shouting at the gears isn't going to fix the machine._

But excising the broken, unfit, insidiously malicious _gear_ from the machine
will make said machine one gear short of harming the innocent-until-proven-
guilty.

~~~
philwelch
There are ten thousand gears coming out of law school every year. It won't
make a difference.

~~~
rosser
_It won't make a difference._

If engineers started getting sacked for breaking the build, you can be damned
sure people would get very scrupulous about only committing working code,
whether they're fresh out of school or greybeards.

No, it's not a perfect analogy, but I don't think it needs to be.

~~~
philwelch
If you did it every time, sure. That's called changing the system. Sacking one
engineer for breaking one build and then going back to encouraging all the
other engineers for making as many commits as possible, and giving raises and
promotions to engineers who make the most commits, while sweeping all the
other broken builds under the rug, would just be scapegoating.

Just like this is, actually.

~~~
shiven
_Just like this is, actually._

No, so not like this, actually.

How many software engineers or their professional peers have been nudged,
pushed or shoved into committing suicide because of a broken build? No,
really?

When a person in position of authority is maliciously responsible for driving
people to the brink of suicide and then some, they need to be held to a higher
standard because of the very position they hold.

This episode is not an excuse for a witch-hunt of those in power, but the
people who precipitated this episode need to be excised from their position
precisely because of the irresponsible witch-hunt they carried out.

~~~
philwelch
> How many software engineers or their professional peers have been nudged,
> pushed or shoved into committing suicide because of a broken build?

It wasn't my shitty analogy to begin with. You're missing the point: getting
one prosecutor fired won't change anything, because everyone above and below
that prosecutor will continue operating the exact same way.

~~~
shiven
_getting one prosecutor fired won't change anything_

Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. But de-throning that one prosecutor will, in
her own words, _serve as a message_ [0] to others of her kind that reckless,
power-drunk actions have real-world repercussions.

[0]
[http://www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news/2011/December/EremianVer...](http://www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news/2011/December/EremianVerdictPR.html)

~~~
potatolicious
> _"But de-throning that one prosecutor will, in her own words, serve as a
> message"_

No, it won't. People respond to risks and rewards, and we've shown amply over
the years that the severity of punishment has little deterrent effect on
future offenses if the _odds_ of getting caught aren't high enough.

In other words, by throwing _one_ prosecutor to the wolves, we have no
inspired any behavioral change in other prosecutors, because we've shown that
_once every few decades_ we will punish _one_ person - and that's stacked
against the systemic pressures they face to prosecute as many people as
vigorously as possible, _every day_.

This is the same reason why the death sentence, as severe as it is, has
basically no effect on crime rates, because it's not handed out with enough
regularity to be a deterrent (whether or not we _should_ have the death
sentence is another story altogether).

To achieve the "message sending" you want, we will have to regularly
investigate _many_ prosecutors, such that the odds of escaping their reckless
prosecutorial actions are low. This is what most other people call "changing
the system" ;)

Outlier one-offs is just compounding tragedy upon tragedy.

------
pliu
Quinn Norton:

"It wasn't Carmen Ortiz that hounded Aaron to death, it was Steve Heymann. And
the system that helped him do it: that was all of us."
<https://twitter.com/quinnnorton/status/290204205124304896>

And Tim Carmody:

"FWIW, Carmen Ortiz just runs the US Attorney's office in MA. Stephen Heymann
is the Assistant US Attorney going hard after Aaron Swartz."
<https://twitter.com/tcarmody/status/290192055488094209>

~~~
erichocean
Carmen Ortiz was the person in charge of either (a) not employing people like
Stephen Heymann, or (b) overseeing their activities better.

Of course, Stephen Heymann should also bear the blame. But we don't help
society when we refuse to find those _in charge_ responsible for the things
they actually _are_ responsible for.

~~~
erichocean
BTW, here's her position on the case (via the NYT)[1]:

    
    
      Carmen M. Ortiz, a United States attorney, pressed on, 
      saying that “stealing is stealing, whether you use a 
      computer command or a crowbar, and whether you take 
      documents, data or dollars.”
    

i.e. she was in full support of the trial against Aaron.

[1] [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/technology/aaron-swartz-
in...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/technology/aaron-swartz-internet-
activist-dies-at-26.html?_r=0)

------
lmkg
While Cameron Ortiz' actions towards Aaron Swartz were unjust, I think that
she is receiving an unduly large share of the ire, and as a result, several
other agents and factors in this scenario are receiving an unduly small share.
While I don't particularly want to defend her, I believe that a) justice is
never served well by a lynch mob b) other actors are _more deserving of blame_
, and by focusing on Ortiz we give them a get-out-of-jail-free card that
involves throwing her under the bus.

Ortiz was prosecuting Aaron for actions that are, in fact, crimes, as defined
by US law. That's her job, that's her responsibility, and 95+% of the time she
is serving the public interest by performing that task. Creating just laws is
not her responsibility, it is someone else's. Specifically, it is Congress'
responsibility, and they fucked up big-time. They deserve dragging over the
coals as much as she does, as do the interests interests who benefit from
restricted access to knowledge who lobbied for the creation of these laws. If
our reaction to these events is to remove Ortiz, but leave in place the laws
themselves and those responsible for their creation, I would call that a
failure on our part to hold responsible those who are responsible.

\----

Intentionally separating this part.

While I do think that Ortiz is in the wrong for using bullying tactics, I do
not place much blame on her for prosecuting according to an unjust law. For
better or worse, that (fucking terrible) law was enacted by a democratically-
elected government. I expect her to prosecute based on the laws enacted by a
fair democratic process, and not based on her personal views. To do otherwise,
I would consider an abuse of power.

She had faith that the laws given to her to uphold were just. In this respect,
she was let down by those she depended on. While I wish she had not chosen to
prosecute, I do not consider it a failing of hers that she did so. I pile far
more blame on Congress than anyone, because it was _their_ responsibility to
make sure that the laws are just and fair. While several parties acted in a
fashion I disagree with, they are the ones who had the greatest expectation to
do otherwise.

Again, that is entirely separate from the bullying tactics she used in
prosecution. Those actions are not defensible.

~~~
btilly
The truth is that every prosecutor faces too many possible cases to actually
pursue, and so has to choose which ones to focus on. A prosecutor may try to
be neutral, but the basic act of triage forces you to show your biases.

In this case Aaron stuck a laptop in an unlocked closet, used curl to download
lots of links, and did absolutely nothing to hide his tracks because he did
not think he was doing anything wrong.

She looked at the facts, and decided to press forward with charges regardless
when she had more important things she could have focused on instead, and when
the company whose documents were "stolen" (and never distributed) wanted to
drop charges. Why?

~~~
rgbrenner
"did absolutely nothing to hide his tracks"

Rewriting history to fit your own narrative helps no one. He did plenty to
hide his tracks:

1) when he connected the laptop to MITs network, he used a fake name (Gary
Host/Grace Host) 2) when his MAC was banned by MIT, he changed it 3) he used
his helmet to hide his face from a camera when he accessed MITs networking
closet 4) he hid the laptop in the closet underneath a cardboard box 5) when
he retrieved the laptop from the networking closet, he then went to SIPB and
hid the laptop underneath a table 6) when police finally found him, he jumped
off his bike and ran from police

He did all of that.. and you're telling me he did not think anything he was
doing was wrong? That's a little far fetched.

How about you stop rewriting things, and just tell them how they are?

<http://tech.mit.edu/V131/N30/swartz.html>

~~~
shiven
... and just how or why does _all_ of that justify 35 yrs in jail and 10^6 USD
in fines?

~~~
rgbrenner
I never said it did. We can debate about whether he's innocent or not; what
sentence he deserves (if he's guilty); what tactics are ok by the justice
dept; whether his activities should be illegal at all; etc, etc, etc.

But the things we do know about what happened, that are not an individuals
opinion... we don't get to change those just to make it more convenient to
create the narrative we want.

------
rowanwernham
If anyone should go down first its Steve Heymann who also led up the
ridiculous 40 year sentence against soupnazi.

from wired:

'The FBI investigated that hack, but in the end no charges were filed. Aaron
wasn’t so lucky with the JSTOR matter. The case was picked up by Assistant
U.S. Attorney Steve Heymann in Boston, the cybercrime prosecutor who won a
record 20-year prison stretch for TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez. Heymann indicted
Aaron on 13 counts of wire fraud, computer intrusion and reckless damage. The
case has been wending through pre-trial motions for 18 months, and was set for
jury trial on April 1.'

<http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/01/aaron-swartz/>

And re: soupnazi, throwing a hacker (even a hacker who was actually criminal)
in with violent offenders because he pissed off the wrong people is fucked:

"After his sentencing, Gonzalez was transferred from Wyatt to the Metropolitan
Detention Center in Brooklyn (before ultimately ending up in a prison in
Michigan). Situated between a loud stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
and Gowanus Bay, M.D.C. is brutal, even for a prison. Populated by hardened
offenders, it is among the last places a nonviolent government informant would
want to be. “The place is terrible,” Agent Michael said. “But you know what?
When you burn both ends of the candle, that’s what you get.” Even Gonzalez was
impressed by the government’s indifference to his comfort. He says he always
knew it would stick it to him somehow, “but I never thought it would be this
badly.”"

[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/magazine/14Hacker-t.html?p...](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/magazine/14Hacker-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)

------
overgard
To the people suggesting pinning the blame on a person is ignoring the
systemic issues, let me point out this: you can do both. We can both recognize
that the system is broken while still recognizing that we need to make it
plainly obvious how disappointed we are in the people running it.

Making a petition isn't a lynch mob. These people are public servants, and
ostensibly serve at the pleasure of the public. So when tragedies like this
happen we need to make it extremely clear how displeased we are.

~~~
wpietri
Yes. I'm perfectly happy to hate the player _and_ the game.

------
joslin01
I don't understand the apologists' response to this.

"She's just doing her job" "She was only acting in what she believed to be
right" "She's just good at her job."

Do I have to remind everyone here that we're actually just humans living
amongst one another and the overarching rule of thumb is: Do No Harm?

Seriously. When it's someone in the private sector doing wrong, everyone wants
to come out and demonize the person, but as soon as it's a person in the
public office, it's as if we immediately start finding excuses for them.

Wake up. Someone's life was demolished because it seemed like a good case to
pick up. "Stealing is illegal," she said. Well ok, so is marijuana possession,
jay-walking, and smoking inside restaurants. I'm not too sure I can get behind
any of these _morally_. Victimless crimes don't need a federal prosecutor
coming in and slamming 30+ years at a person. It's just not right.

Like many others here, I want to know why she chose this case. Aaron single-
handedly put an end to SOPA by gathering huge amounts of support. Imagine if
he could have went on? Imagine the impact he could have made on this world?
Does the government fear this? Does silencing him just as they are doing the
Wikileaks founder ensure their own sick agenda?

Before we rush to Carmen Ortiz's defense, why don't we ask these questions,
yea? Because it's not like we can't find another federal prosecutor -- perhaps
one who has more moral integrity than to sentence a 26 yr old GENIUS to a life
in prison.

------
aw3c2
Don't blindly get the torches and pitchforks to treat a symtome, find the root
problem and try to change the copyright/science/education/access system at the
core.

~~~
greghinch
The fact is, there are real people involved in a specific set of events that
contributed to the tragedy today. Those people are members of our government.
Holding government officials accountable to the people for their actions is a
fundamental tenet of the United States' constitution.

------
btilly
This is such an obvious move that I signed, and shared on social media at
[https://plus.google.com/114613808538621741268/posts/E3wWNB2s...](https://plus.google.com/114613808538621741268/posts/E3wWNB2sgej)
and on FB. (Ironically my previous post was a request for people not to share
so many political links.)

------
rmc
Be careful. One does not really want to send the message to people
contemplating suicide that if they complete the suicide that their 'enemies'
will loose their job.

Suicide is a terrible short term solution. There are better solutions.

------
alan_cx
I'm no expert on the US way of things, but wasn't this prosecutor just doing
her job according to the law, or as directed by government policy? She not a
vigilante, or is that effectively the case in the US? Surely you guys need to
got after the law or government in some way, not harass this woman who was
doing what she was paid to do.

Ok, so you win, she gets fired. Another will simply replace her. You need to
get the laws sorted out.

Get the laws changed. Or get laws to protect people. Do it in his name. I cant
think of a better legacy. (Well, unless I am completely and utterly wrong
about how US law stuff works. In which case, I hold up my ignorant hands)

~~~
bcoates
US Federal prosecutors are pretty much Judge Dredd. The law gives them broad
discretion and wide political independence; so much so that the broad and
vague on-paper criminal law is irrelevant in practice. 95% of cases end in a
plea bargain and federal juries have a conviction rate in the 80s.

<http://law.wlu.edu/deptimages/Law%20Review/67-4Podgor.pdf>

------
aroberge
Petition to make the required changes to the law, not to remove a human cog
from the machine.

~~~
ChrisWi
How about both? The cog is broken, as is the greater machine. Let's fix both.

Is the ball already rolling on a petition to have these particular laws
changed?

~~~
dyno12345
You can't petition the White House to change laws...

~~~
harshreality
Why not? Please think twice before giving the govt 101 separation of powers
answer. I hope we all know that the President isn't a monarch.

------
cma
For her misunderstanding of the word theft it nothing else

------
mangler
Of course, I assume nobody wants Ms. Ortiz to spin into deep guilt-driven
depression for doing what she believed was right. This kind of emotional
blackmail is probably not helping anyone or anything, at least not this soon
after the events when emotions are still looming high and, more importantly,
nobody actually understands the exact circumstances of a person's... well...
personal predicament that lead to certain actions....

~~~
Turing_Machine
Your evidence that she was doing "what she believed was right" rather than
"what she believed would enhance her career" would be?

------
evarea
13 Felony counts? I can only express outrage and spew vitriol towards U.S.
Attorney Carmen Ortiz. She so desperately wants to put her name out front
hoping to win the next Governor's election and she did just that, but
unfortunately, at the expense of beloved Aaron Swartz's life.

MIT & JSTOR refused to press charges; potentially, misdemeanors for
downloading documents for free public access & possibly violating a TOC. But
Scott Garland, the other prosecutor (lap doggy), and Carmen Ortiz pursued
Aaron by digging deep into their own interpretation of the law to manufacture
new and more serious charges against him. Carmen Ortiz and her minions
continued to badger Swartz by harassing this brilliant & heroic young man
until his death by suicide. The government should have hired him rather than
make him a criminal.

I wonder which murderer, child abuser or rapist the DOJ planned to spring from
the overcrowded prison to make room for an open-source activist. This is just
so wrong on many levels!

May you R.I.P. Aaron Swartz.

------
Elle4
I found on the Internet that Steven P Heymann was honored at an awards
ceremony by Eric Holder. Prior to the year 2010, there's not that much on
Heymann from a cursory search. But he was moving up by busting cybercrime in
concert with Secret Service Agents and FBI. The power-boys club. And certainly
enjoying it. I found evidence of intent to misrepresent Aaron Swartz when they
referenced him as "not attending MIT but enrolled in an unrelated Boston
college." They deliberately concealed the fact that Aaron was at Harvard, to
make sure that he was not viewed in any way favorably in this report of their
indictment. I read the indictment and it makes every minor step into a hyped
depiction of criminality. That is a legal tactic and technique, designed to
persuade towards the impression of guilt.

Strategies are a collaborative effort in law enforcement. While I do not know
much about these LE agents, I do know that they intended to destroy him,
exploit his history of depression (which was common knowledge and surely part
of a file work-up) and put him in Federal prison at age 26 and not able to be
released until he was 76 years old. As I stated elsewhere, in many states,
murders and pedophiles do not face that scope of incarceration. This was more
of a targeting than a criminal prosecution. They has just come off a highly
awarded prosecution and unfortunately Aaron was next in line for them to reap
more awards in a ceremony. I am so sad this young man was overwhelmed by the
horror of the circumstances. I hope there is ultimately a WIKI each for Steven
P. Heymann and his Director, Carmen Ortiz, so that their impact on the life of
Aaron Swartz in the name of "justice" stands as the award they get from the
public.

In effect. Aaron Swartz was given the death penalty for being a freedom
fighter. His love of freedom was expressed in radical creativity and breaking
down artificial barriers. Who could have known the draconeon measures that
were awaiting him?

~~~
saveournation
This is not the first time US Attorney Carmen Ortiz has wronged innocent
American Citizens. I read on the Internet a case of an Innocent Federal
Employee who worked for US Customs in Boston his EEOC case was tarnished as
Prosecutors in Boston concealed from the Federal Judge the Employees Right-to-
Sue which is a Civil Rights Case under Tile VII of the US Civil Rights Act of
1964. Carmen Ortiz failed to see that an innocent family has been damaged by
an OVERREACHING PROSECUTION who hide Civil Rights documents from a Federal
Judge. USA Ortiz has done this to innocent Americans to get a Political Stand.

------
msbpodcast
The zeal with which Carmen Ortiz showed in prosecuting the case against Aaron
Swartz shows a criminal lack of discernment on the prosecutor's part which
directly led to Mr. Swartz death.

The prosecutor should be removed as judgement (or lack thereof) has resulted
in a tragic miscarriage of justice for the defendant.

The defendant was not a hardened criminal, but he was treated as if he was.

The case involved no violence, breaking in, no drugs, no profit.

The employing of such heavy-handed techniques that the defendant would prefer
to end his life rather than face whatever punishment the prosecutor was
proffering was entirely inappropriate.

The crime was one of accessing JSTORs files which, since the files are locked
behind a paywall, contain information which JSTOR was NOT involved in
creating, the legality of JSTOR ownership is questionable.

This is a case of prosecutorial over-reach. Carmen Ortiz is incompetent at
best or malevolent at worst.

Let such individuals find employment in other professions where discernement
or judgement are not required.

------
ThinkAboutIt
All of you who want to minimize what Aaron Schwartz did and lead a pitchfork
mob against a prosecutor are misguided little spinsters. Lest you forget that
he was caught on security cameras breaking into the a server room with a bike
helmet covering his face. He knew he was breaking the law. He was caught. The
heroic part of his action was the very fact that he knew he was breaking the
law and still did it in the name of free access to knowledge. Anybody who says
that he killed himself because of prosecutorial overreach it taking away from
the significance of his action. No, he was being prosecuted because he
committed a crime. He committed a crime because he did not agree with the law.
The problem is the law, not the person enforcing the law. And if any of you
had the capability to have an independent thought not shaped by emotion or
group-think you would realize this.

------
lesliestahlhut
Carmen Ortiz has set back this country's ability to compete in the global
marketplace by relentless pursuing one of the great innovator and job creators
to the point that he took his own life.

She has not served her country, she has harmed it, and you have a duty to
remove her from office so that she does not ruin more lives.

Her pursuit of this case shows that she has no understanding of the the roll
technology and information play in the transformation of our economy, and it
also shows that she lacks compassion.

The world will feel the loss of Aaron Swartz for many years as his talent was
not easily replaced. If you fire Carmen Ortiz tomorrow, I can assure you, she
will not be missed.

Someone who is this abusive as a prosecutor is probably equally abusive as a
supervisor. From now until her term as prosecutor ends, I will get up every
morning and ask myself: "What have I done to help get Carmen Ortiz removed
from office today?"

------
philwelch
Where's the petition to require free publication and distribution of federally
funded academic research? That was the point of that particular exercise in
civil disobedience in the first place. What a disappointment--it's like firing
a cop for putting Martin Luther King in jail without ever addressing racism.

~~~
matthewrobertso
No, it's like firing a US district attorney for deciding to put Martin Luther
King in jail. And you can do more than one action.

~~~
philwelch
It serves no one to make a single prosecutor the scapegoat for a whole system
and a whole set of bad laws that need to be changed. There are a thousand
prosecutors who are no better just waiting to take that job.

We're going after Ortiz because we think it will satisfy our outrage and
grief. That is exactly what I am worried about. I understand wanting to put a
face on a tragedy like this, but we should be smarter than this.

~~~
matthewrobertso
>It serves no one to make a single prosecutor the scapegoat for a whole system
and a whole set of bad laws that need to be changed.

It sends a message that we are not satisfied with the way she ran her office.

>There are a thousand prosecutors who are no better just waiting to take that
job.

Then they better learn from Ortiz's failure or be removed by the same process.
Eventually someone will figure out that this kind of behavior is not
acceptable.

>We're going after Ortiz because we think it will satisfy our outrage and
grief.

No, I'm upset with Ortiz because this should not have happened. Absolutely no
legitimate reason for them to pursue this if JSTOR has no problem.

~~~
philwelch
If you're removing anyone, remove Holder. Ortiz is just a fall guy. The entire
DOJ is run this way, that's why Ortiz got the job in the first place. If Ortiz
gets the sack, it will be as apologetically as possible, and her successor
will be instructed to do the same damn things if not worse.

If the Feds think our outrage will be satisfied by sacrificing one prosecutor,
that's all they will do, and they will do it gladly, and that will be the end
of that. They will sacrifice their pawn and checkmate us.

------
voidlogic
Interesting Read: "Bostonian of the Year: Carmen Ortiz"

[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011...](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/12/30/bostonian_of_the_year_carmen_ortiz_2011/)

~~~
nullc
Read along side: [http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/141253-15th-annual-
muzzle-...](http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/141253-15th-annual-muzzle-
awards/?page=2#TOPCONTENT)

------
decius
I signed this petition. It is the first Whitehouse petition I've ever signed.

I think its an oversimplification to rest all of the blame for Swartz's death
on his prosecutor.

However, unnecessary, overzealous prosecution is wrong, and it has
consequences - things like this are going to happen when you push people to
the edge just because you can.

If this petition receives enough signatures it will force the White House to
consider the issue. I do not expect them to remove Carmen Ortiz, but I do
expect them to address the reality of overzealous prosecution. It is worth
taking a few seconds to ask them to do that.

------
olefoo
The petition has already reached 1,000 signers. 1/25th of the number needed to
expect a response.

------
justiceforaaron
This destructive person needs to be removed from office. Her illegal
prosecution and harassment of Aaron Swartz is disgusting. She and the goons at
the Justice Department bear the guilt for his demise. Despite this, his memory
and mission live on.

------
tuananh
This isn't right. She probably were just doing her job. Someone dies doesn't
make what he/she is doing absolutely right and others' wrong. Don't let the
condolences for Aaron clouds your judgment.

------
baycyd
Another U.S. Attorney out of control. Eric Holder needs to have a serious come
to constitutionality talk with all the U.S. attorneys, after he gets rid of
this one.

------
glazier
Another example of our "betters" knowing what's best for us. What a shame this
brilliant young mans life is over because Carmen wants to be governor.
Sickening.

------
Dinamicor
Carmen Ortiz should not only be fired; she should be prosecuted for negligence
and wrongdoing on pursuing a non-proportional sentence. Specially, when it is
well known that she didn´t do anything to prosecute the banksters of the
2007-2009 crises.

Loos like Ortiz considers justice is better served prosecuting a young genius
committing a “misdemeanor” compared to the banker’s assault to its client’s
funds and trust.

------
neverminder
I only new Aaron from what I occasionally read online, however his death
saddens me and the reason of his death makes my blood boil. This is a wake up
call for us all to act, this is the least we can do. I am a member of a few
secluded communities and I will personally see to bringing as many signatures
as I can to this petition and the one to Posthumously Pardon Aaron Swartz.

------
Kylekramer
Attacking a person's perceived "enemies" post tragedy is a terrible idea
sending the wrong message to those with suicidal thoughts.

------
Phidias
Her draconian bullying of Aaron Swartz led to his death. He positive
contributions to the world vastly outweigh hers. Her actions are morally
unacceptable. Her actions are unworthy of America and the State of
Massachusetts. She is a monument to the suppression of freedom. She is a
monster. She must step down or be fired.

------
NathanKP
Rather than forming a lynch mob against the prosecutor let's consider working
on a petition more along the lines of this one:

"Posthumously Pardon Aaron Swartz"

[https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/posthumously-
pardo...](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/posthumously-pardon-aaron-
swartz/DVpdmSBj)

------
res0nat0r
I see the Internet lynch mob in full effect today with this. I would love to
know the percentage of people signing this who only have read a couple HN
articles for the first time today about this person and have no more than a
passing knowledge of Ortizs' career than a Wikipedia summary.

------
ontogram
Schwarz downloaded documents illegally and should have been charged, but he is
not the conspirator and traitor she made him out to be. In no case, should he
have faced a possible 35 years in jail.

Ortiz, not Aaron, is an affront to liberalism and decency and does not deserve
high office in this land.

------
ssratoga02128
It's unfortunate that DA offices didn't attempted to prosecute those that have
contributed to the tanking of the economy but I suppose it's alot easier to go
after those that do not have a army of attorneys and probably do not regularly
put down cold hard cash in elections.

------
hideouse
Anyone who chooses to prosecute someone over technical issues ought to educate
themselves about that technology. Fire her. Better yet, try her for misuse of
her authority, abuseof her authority and incompetence.

------
Tharkun
I agree with the sentiment. I understand the anger and powerlessness. However,
we should all take a moment before posting poorly-written petitions and
signing them. Decisions made in anger rarely accomplish much.

This person made errors in judgement. Maybe they came from her poor
understanding of technology, maybe not. But what's clear is that the petition
author has equally limited understanding of legal matters. Don't do what she
did. Be the better person.

Go about this the proper way. If you truly feel that she did something wrong,
then consult with a lawyer and decide what can be done. Maybe legal action can
be taken to have her sanctioned. Maybe she can be educated. I don't know. And
neither do you. So instead of -- essentially -- calling for her to be hanged,
go about this the proper way.

------
ojr
A 30 year sentence would not be the end of his life, he would have went to a
low level prison and probably have been release early on parole, it didnt have
to end like this but he was too troubled, very sad

------
Claro
Original Stephen Heymann DOX was taken down by Pastebin (why would they do
that?). SO here's another, albeit less info...

<http://pastebin.com/WvY5RnjV>

------
pvaldes
This seems a relatively common modus operandi. The history reminds me a lot to
the Nancy Black case.

<http://www.nancyblacklegaldefense.org/>

------
jerryhuang100
Ortiz and Heymann are just Pharisees for strict observance, bullying and
abusing of the written law with a huge disconnect with the society and
technology.

------
scorpion032
I am naive about this case. If one particular prosecutor had it so badly
against him, could he not appeal at the higher level after this decision?

------
asfwt62
THere are rapist and murderers that get smaller sentences than Aaron Swartz.
Priorities are screwed up Ms. Ortiz.

------
mbloom1915
the petition now needs 100k signatures, sign it here:
[https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-
stat...](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-
district-attorney-carmen-ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck)

------
radioactivejen
Another example of a rogue prosecutor ignoring the rights of Victims to
further their own careers.

THIS MUST STOP!

------
lanthony
The Obama administration is a failure and continues to increase the deficit of
democracy. At least if you will not prosecute your owners on Wallstreet at
least let tiny evidence show that you can act like you are not a fool.

If the true global public could be the judge than you would be recognized as a
terrorist

------
walawala
Carmen Ortiz has blood on her hands for causing the death of Aaron Swartz.

------
simion
She needs to be removed. There was no proportionality to he actions.

------
BrianPaone
Signed. It'll hit 25k before the day's out, I bet.

But it needs to hit 311 million.

~~~
Caballera
Not sure if it's just me, but when I checked the petition about an hour ago,
when I woke up, there were just over 20K signers, now I check and the number
has gone down to 19,879.

~~~
jmaygarden
The same thing must have happened to me. I was just coming here to see if
anyone commented on the count decreasing.

------
murfmv
Disgraceful for what you have done to Aaron Swartz

------
radioactivejen
isn't what Mme. Ortiz did (over-reaching prosecution) a form of stealing
also...?

What do you call a supposed "good guy" who breaks the law?

------
nycterrierist
Carmen Ortiz should be disbarred.

------
jbrun
Javert

------
rprasad
Zero percent chance of this happening:

\- She did her job, which is to enforce the laws as they are written.

\- She is very good at doing that job.

\- You will not get her fired on the basis of enforcing a law on the books
where the law has not been found unconstitutional nor even had its
constitutionality seriously questioned.

You want a petition that might have some value? Petition the white house to
change the laws or to direct the DOJ not to enforce the law. Until either of
those happens, federal prosecutors are ethically bound to continue prosecuting
these cases.

~~~
alexqgb
None of this has any bearing on the pre-trial tactics that are being used with
increasing abandon by the DOJ. Specifically, they seek to prevent defendants
from having their day in court by making any defence ruinously expensive. An
even nastier version of this tactic involves freezing a defendent's assets,
making the retention of competent representation a fiscal impossibility.
Having effectivly stripped a target of their Constitutionally guaranteed right
to a fair and open trial, they credibly threaten their victims with insanely
onerous penalties that can be avoided only by accepting plea bargains that
involve consent to charges that may well be baseless. In other words, they've
successfully undermined one of the nation's key checks on abuse of government
power.

From what's emerged today, it's clear that the case against Aaron was weak at
best, and highly unlikely to lead to conviction in open court against capable
defenders. "Bullying" is an understatement. What's going on is an outright
assault on the very core of restrained government. Whether this power is being
used for good or ill is besides the point. Like extrajudicial killings, the
power itself has been placed outside prosecutor's reach for a reason. They
have taken it anyway, and they've done so because no impedement has been there
to stop them. At the same time, they've depended in security through
obscurity. A general lack of awareness as to how abusive and out of control
they've become has enabled the rot we're seeing now.

In this case, we see the importance of open access to jury trials in that they
prevent the government from harming its own legitimacy. Given how unrestrained
the DOJ has become, it was only a matter of time before they suffered a high-
profile screwup. And while Ortiz may simply have been the one unlucky enough
to own it, she is very much a part of the problem. Unlike Aaron, she is not an
unfortunate innocent caught in the wrong time at the wrong place. To the
contrary, she is the fox sneaking into the henhouse on the night that a new
watchdog is sleeping beneath it.

------
vertr
I feel like this petition could have been written so much more persuasively.
Regardless, I signed.

