What's this? This is an unbiased just-the-facts news summary about Aaron Swartz. To see the full newsline, click the red tabs below. Love news? Become a contributor now!

12 Jan, 2013

Family and partner release official statement

Makes Statement2 Comments

The family and partner of Swartz release an official statement, praising his commitment to Internet openness and partially blaming MIT and the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office for his death :

Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment. We are in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing. Aaron’s insatiable curiosity, creativity, and brilliance; his reflexive empathy and capacity for selfless, boundless love; his refusal to accept injustice as inevitable—these gifts made the world, and our lives, far brighter. We’re grateful for our time with him, to those who loved him and stood with him, and to all of those who continue his work for a better world.

Aaron’s commitment to social justice was profound, and defined his life. He was instrumental to the defeat of an Internet censorship bill; he fought for a more democratic, open, and accountable political system; and he helped to create, build, and preserve a dizzying range of scholarly projects that extended the scope and accessibility of human knowledge. He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place. His deeply humane writing touched minds and hearts across generations and continents. He earned the friendship of thousands and the respect and support of millions more.

Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.

Today, we grieve for the extraordinary and irreplaceable man that we have lost.

They also launch an remembrance website, rememberaaronsw.com

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

trackback

[…] rubato dati informatici che lo avrebbero reso ricco? Anche i genitori di Aaron hanno pubblicato un breve comunicato molto netto che rimanda alle gravi e dirette responsabilità nel suicidio del ragazzo in relazione […]

trackback

[…] i genitori di Aaron hanno pubblicato un breve comunicato molto netto che rimanda alle gravi e dirette responsabilità nel suicidio del ragazzo in relazione […]