“In Les Misérables, an obsessed French police officer, Javert, relentlessly pursues Jean Valjean, a man who represents no danger to society but whose minor infraction brought down the wrath of the brutal government, including 19 years of hard labor and lifetime parole. America, too, has its Javerts. Zealous and ruthless federal prosecutors have the power to torment people for trivial or imagined offenses, threatening them with decades of barbaric confinement. The consequences can be tragic even when case is not seen through to completion. Take the example of Aaron Swartz. Swartz, an acclaimed programming prodigy, who faced 13 counts under the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).”
http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/did-the-government-drive-aaron-swartz-to-suicide/