Sure, as a percentage it's very rare - but some people have died as a result: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz

I think most would agree that cases like that act as a deterrent?

That’s not even more than tangentially copyright-related?

> I think most would agree that cases like that act as a deterrent?

I think we could hardly get any further from “the rest of us are prosecuted as harshly as possible if caught”.