jail time for spammer?

so there was a story on Yahoo news today - yes, the same Yahoo that gave all kinds of money to the Republicans - about some former AOL employee who is being prosecuted for selling AOL member's email addresses to some marketing company. he pleaded guilty which would have landed him in jail for 18 months but the judge wouldn't accept the plea as he wasn't sure the guy had actually broken the law.

excuse me? aren't the jails already over-crowded with drug offenders and some murderers and rapists? I have a difficult time with the idea that we'd put someone in jail for such an offense. and, is it my imagination or doesn't this practice of selling our personal info to marketers happen legally all the time. oh, but that's right, only when corporations get the money. is that how it works?

as my good friend Lewis Black would say...IDIOTS!