

Petition to remove DA Ortiz reaches 25,000 signatures - olefoo

The petition to the President to remove Carmen Ortiz from the position of District Attorney for the state of Massachusetts has reached the number of signatures that is supposed to deserve a response from the Whitehouse.<p>This does not mean the campaign is over; but it does mean we are off to a good start. The next step is for you. Yes, you. To write or call your US Representative, and both of your Senators, ask them to help bring proportionality, reason and mercy back to our justice system; ask them to further the cause of open knowledge, and ask them to hold the president to account for the actions of Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Heymann.<p>Thank you for your help.<p>https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-attorney-carmen-ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck
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achille2
Can we continue on to the man actually pulling the strings on this case:
[https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-
us-...](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-
steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb)

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olefoo
Yes. I signed that one and would encourage everyone else to do so as well.

However, it is an unfortunate fact of political life, that when someone screws
up; the best move is to try to get their boss fired. Shit, as they say; flows
downhill. Wouldn't surprise me too much if she fires him or he resigns under
pressure, regardless of whether her position is seriously threatened or not.

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jerrya
I'd like to see way more signatures than 25,000.

President Obama can ignore 25,000 nerds. But 50,000 will be a petition unlike
many others. 200,000 people have signed a petition on gun control.

I'd like to see 50,000 signatures on this petition -- I'd love to see 100,000
signatures.

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dholowiski
30,251 right now.

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cstefanovici
Please don't forget about this one. Although it's more symbolic than useful:

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

~~~
tlrobinson
He was never convicted and the case was dropped after his death. What else is
there to do?

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jayfuerstenberg
I love what the academic world did in response...

[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/13/academics-tweet-
tri...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/13/academics-tweet-tribute-
aaron-swartz_n_2468272.html)

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exit
every cynic who argues targeting a specific prosecutor won't fix the system is
going to eat humble pie when this movement brings about sweaping reform of the
justice system

~~~
madaxe
It won't change anything. Ortiz will probably get promoted over this.
Corruption and incompetency are rewarded in America.

No, really, I'm not kidding, so I'm not sure why you downvoted me. She's the
favourite for governor of Ma.

If you run a bank into the ground, you get a smile and a handshake, and a big
fat cheque.

If you start a war based on lies, you get given a cushy retirement and
immunity from prosecution.

Your American dream is dead in a ditch. You just have an American nightmare,
and you desperately need to wake up.

So it goes.

~~~
BrokenPipe
Hey, I don't think you are wrong. It is totally corrupted. On the other hand,
things eventually do change (for better or worse) and we should fight or at
the very least support those that do fight back. All I'm saying is that it is
worth trying, even if we have quite a bit to lose from the system we don't
like so much.

~~~
madaxe
Oh, I agree, but I'm just incredibly bitter and cynical, and I don't believe
the institutions which run the show are capable of change from within.

I hope to high hell that I'm wrong.

~~~
BrokenPipe
Not only that, but how about trying either way, both within and from the
outside. The bitter and the cynical can help from the outside too ;)

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dholowiski
I'm sure this is a massive coincidence, but they just raised the requirement
from 25,000 to 100,000. Get signing!

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dear
Nice!

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egwor
At the risk of being down-voted, are we risking the same threat that one of
these prosecutors would also take their life? Put yourself in the position of
someone who voted. How would you feel if they took their lives, as a
consequence of this poll/vote? They are people too.

I worry that the hamsters running the cogs are being blamed rather than the
system.

~~~
olefoo
Being a federal prosecutor isn't just a job, it's a privileged position of
power. It's not someplace where you bumble through law school and wind up
arguing to put people away for life; all of these people competed to get where
they are now. These are people who went to elite law schools and worked hard
at being the sort of people that rise up the ranks in a federal D.A.'s office.
And one of the things that goes with the unbridled power to decide who to
indict and what charges will be brought; is the responsiblity to use that
power appropriately. Anyone who does not understand that responsibility should
not be allowed to pass the bar, much less be handed the power to ruin lives
with relative impunity.

~~~
BrokenPipe
Agreed. You can't compare losing a job versus losing all your money and your
family and friends money as well as ending up 35 years behind bars in a
federal prison, coming out around 60 years old with nothing left.

I don't think we are arguing the persecutor should go to prison for 35 years.
I'm in favor of having the persecutor OUT of office with prejudice (i.e. never
back into office) and perhaps relooking into everyone he had convicted.

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madaxe
Shame that this will be ignored, utterly, by the administration.

Sadly you're all mistaken if you think the status quo will change through
anything other than an overthrow of your entire, rotten-to-the-core system of
governance.

