Most here would prefer that they take home a lesson not to throw the book at people who are trying to make things better.

I think it's been pointed out that he's popular (and thus, has "powerful friends") because they sided with him in trying to do good and improve things. This is a far cry from someone using their celebrity status to flout the law for personal gain, which is the sort of thing one usually condemns.

> I'd be surprised if he'd have wanted his legacy to be people that look like him getting a pass while everyone else suffers the same as before.

Well, that's why Reason magazine (among others) has endorsed Aaron's law to at least fix one part of this. We can't change the system all at once. But we should make whatever progress we can, one law at a time. Perhaps eventually we will go to something like the German system, which dispenses efficient justice without any use of plea bargains. HN was discussing that the other day as well.