Quantity has quality of its own. So does efficiency. When you make a process much more efficient you after a tipping point convert it to something else entirely - like the surveillance that. Technology is amplifier.

Of course getting 10 more years just because he used wget instead of bash scripts that loop with nc is absurd.

But the fact that he used simple automation to do the job should be taken into consideration. So should be the fact that solitary confinement is torture.

But the whole trial seemed like Kangaroo court to me anyway ...

Edit: Also technically he was authorized to use wget - he had permissions to download it from wherever or to install the package and had permissions to set the executive bit to true.