I agree with Lessig's view in that documentary that if he had waited through the court case, and especially asked for a jury trial, it would have been knocked down to a smaller charge, probable conviction and no jail time. Judges and juries are checks on overly aggressive prosecutors. As hinted in the documentary Aaron may have had other issues weighing on him than just this court case.

Not all hacking cases are equal and need to be judged on their own merits. Sometimes there could be much more serious economic harms or intentions than this case.