Unequal 'justice'

Re the tragic death of Aaron Swartz: I thought this remark by a commenter at Crooked Timber was much to the point:

I do not understand why downloading a slew of academic articles was a crime worthy of up to 50 years in jail + a million dollar fine – and people who crashed the economy and laundered money are not at all held accountable.

And this is poignant.

(Update: He was apparently offered a plea bargain involving a half-year's jail time, but the larger point about how prosecutors exercised their discretion stands.)