I read a piece a while back that included a lot of comments from people close to him. They said that the federal case against him severely demoralised him, because even if his punishment ended up being minor, it would be enough to basically destroy his ability to lobby/campaign for the issues he was passionate about, effectively destroying his career. He was also apparently someone who was quite uncomfortable with the limelight, and the case against him made him into the kind of public figure who can get no respite from the public gaze. I can’t imagine how overwhelming that must’ve felt.

I’ve seen no evidence to suggest that Aaron Schwartz didn’t take his own life. However, morally, I would agree that he was murdered.