On January 11, 2013, Internet pioneer and open access activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide following two years of harassment by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. His alleged crime was downloading too many free articles from JSTOR. He was entitled to download articles for free in his capacity as a faculty member of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He broke no laws, yet he faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted. Swartz was targeted solely because of his activism.
While charging someone for someone else's suicide may seem extreme, there is precedent. Harassment and malicious prosecution can add up to manslaughter and negligent homicide if the harassment played a significant role in the victim's decision to commit suicide.