Precisely that. Sure, he made a mistake, but so did AT&T, and now because of it he's potentially going to spend 41 months of his life in jail. Life is too short as it is.
That being said, this guy is obviously not a saint. I don't want to sound like I'm defending his affiliation with GNAA or the fact that he went to Gawker with it.
If it had been someone who gives to community, is polite, and respectful, and instead had gone to the NYT or another publication, they still could lose 3+ years of their life. To a mistake.