For the record, Aaron Swartz never actually went to trial, nor was he “sentenced” to anything.
Federal prosecutors came after him with overzealous charges in an effort to make him accept a plea deal (they do that a lot), which he rejected. It would have gone to court where the feds would have had to justify the charges they were bringing.
But that never happened because he killed himself.
We don’t actually know how this all would have played out.
octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
People keep trying to convince me it’s not evidence of two justice systems.
But it is.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 6 months ago
It’s evidence that we live in corporatocracies masquerading as “democracies”. The 0.1%, shielded by the liability protections of the corporations they own and armies of lobbyists, finance our politics, choose who ends up on the ballot, and shadow write most of our legislation and policies.
Trump is free because he is a part of that < 0.1%.
The Boeing execs who oversaw systemic fraud, lied to the FAA, and murdered 166 people ARE FREE AND RICH. Why? Because they are the 0.1%.
The IPCC hosts fossil fuelled climate summits in fossil fuel exporting countries, inviting fossil fuel corporations and lobbyists to attend — at a scientific conference about how to solve the crisis they created and profited from. Why? Because we live in corporatocracies.
seaQueue@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The US is a kleptocracy, we’re ruled by the people who have looted the public
TotalFat@lemmy.world 6 months ago
If any country’s government spied on its own people as much as big business does in America, people would flip out. But in America, big business really is the government.
We are so fucked…
jaybone@lemmy.world 6 months ago
But no one would really “flip out” because none one could really do anything about it.
Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 6 months ago
Good thing guillotines don’t care about wealth, only the size of your neck.
We’ll just have to make the hole slightly larger to fit fatter necks.
fossphi@lemm.ee 6 months ago
I think this is a consequence of any (unregulated) capitalistic system in general. The system is founded on money, more money will give anyone more influence and power over the system
seaQueue@lemmy.world 6 months ago
It’s a consequence of our “growth at all costs” take on capitalism. Capitalism is only livable for the average person when it’s kept in check by a strong government and corruption is vigorously prosecuted. We’ve decided that corruption just happens and there’s nothing we can do about it, and so there are no disincentives to corrupting government.
SupraMario@lemmy.world 6 months ago
This has nothing to do with an economic system. This same shit is worse even in communist systems, and I’m not even going to try and point fingers at that system and say it is.
The real reason is because of power, and a class system that protects its own.
NovaPrime@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
Only struggle is the class struggle
lol_idk@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
lol you got downvoted because you said something negative about communism on Lemmy
NeverNudeNo13@lemmings.world 6 months ago
True, but also there are consequences of regulated capitalistic systems where the regulatory bodies become fascistic. And I mean in the traditional (actual) definition of fascistic and not just the way it gets thrown around modernly.
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 6 months ago
It’s the subtle difference between a JUSTICE system and a LEGAL system.
One aims to maintain law and order in society in a fair and equal way regardless of one’s status or situation.
The other is a system gamed to benefit the richest and wealthiest individuals to get away with everything.
aberrate_junior_beatnik@midwest.social 6 months ago
At risk of sounding cringe, it’s evidence of one injustice system.
Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 6 months ago
Someone should look up the maximum sentence for what he’s been charged with. The current biggest hold-ups are not being able to make someone appear in multiple trials in different places simultaneously, and avoiding the appearance that the court is trying to interfere with an election.
You don’t want the court to not care about the appearance of interfering with elections, or else you’ll have the GoP trying to get Democrat politicians on dubious charges that they’ll definitely not be guilty of but will definitely bury them in scandal and prevent them from campaigning effectively.
Krono@lemmy.today 6 months ago
You’re not wrong, these Trump trial judges are bending over backwards to avoid any grounds for mistrial. In one sense they are doing the right thing inside the legal framework, but look at the downsides.
The public is watching how a rich and powerful man can game the system, even as a criminal defendant the system is working for him. Every incarcerated person can see the reality: they were treated with default brutality, but Trump is treated as royalty.
And even worse, they are allowing Trump to delay every verdict until after the election. If he wins the election he pardons himself, this is a horrible precedent for our democracy.
octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
I could not possibly have said it better than this.
octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
I’m fairly certain his conduct during the proceedings themselves would have landed me or anyone else in jail by now. (And/Or with a fine that required us to do more than lift up our couch cushions.)
Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 6 months ago
That’s a problem with the amount of fine being set by law and despite likely not being as wealthy as claimed, Trump still has enough money that $10k isn’t going to hurt him.
Jailing him for contempt has all the same logistical problems imprisoning him is going to, but at a smaller, less secure facility.