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Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

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Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#491

Post by celticninja »

offsign wrote: post #487
rappatic wrote: post #164

I think his original sentence was absolutely deserved—even though the charge of hiring a contract killer to assassinate his business competition may have been dropped, I think it's clear he did many things in the same vein. Even if you support his original pursuit of a free and open online marketplace, I think most people would agree he took it a bridge too far in the end. That said, I do think he absolutely deserved…

"he took it a bridge too far" is a massive trivialization. The guy operated a marketplace for illegal goods in order to enrich himself. The illegality wasn't just incidental, it was literally his business model -- by flouting the law, he enjoyed massive market benefit (minimal competition, lack of regulation, high margins etc) by exploiting the arbitrage that the rest of us follow the rules. Said a different way, he…

Not sure it was high margin as much as it was low fees on a large number of transactions, coupled with bitcoin appreciation this meant he made a lot of money.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#492

Post by nearbuy »

loeg wrote: post #374
insane_dreamer wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Madoff got 150 years for non-violent charges (and he didn't even try to have anyone killed). Died in prison.

Madoff stole $20-35B, but by some measures a human life is only worth $10M. I am not really asserting those figures are comparable, just that Madoff stole a lot of money.

If someone robs a bank, or steals a wallet, they're probably hoping to get as much money as they can. If that wallet happened to $1B in it, I don't think it makes the thief more heinous. If we sentence people based on the amount of money they manage to steal, we're sentencing them largely based on luck.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#493

Post by keepamovin »

wolfgang42 wrote: post #173

Tangentially related: I had the disconcerting experience of reading a Wired article about his arrest[1] while unknowingly sitting about six feet from the spot where he was apprehended. When I read that the FBI agents had stopped at Bello Coffee while preparing their stakeout, I thought, huh, interesting coincidence, I just had a coffee there. Then Ulbricht walked into the public library and sat down at the table dire…

You may be interested in looking at your experience though this lens: https://youtu.be/y61vpQ9cZ8s?si=jMXF35v6-2t5w0cj

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#494

Post by presentation »

andsoitis wrote: post #443

Ross Ulbricht on X: https://x.com/realrossu

If you're wondering like I was why he is able to tweet from prison, this article explains that he's dictating tweets via phone to his family, and they are sending back comments to him via mail. [1]

[1] https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2018/08/16/silk-road-founder-r...

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#496

Post by tasuki »

agentultra wrote: post #381

Is this president extremely concerned about drug dealers and gangs in the US? Why is he pardoning a drug trafficker?

Don't online drug marketplaces lead to reduced gang activity?

One does not need a gang and violence to sell drugs online. Selling drugs offline, gangs and violence will get involved.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#497

Post by bilekas »

agentultra wrote: post #381

Is this president extremely concerned about drug dealers and gangs in the US? Why is he pardoning a drug trafficker?

I mean, I don't know why it's a full pardon, IMO Ulbricht's sentence was far too long and harsh, I'm sure it was to make a point that others should not replicate it, but wouldn't a stay on the remainder of his sentence been a better option here ?

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#498

Post by ty6853 »

offsign wrote: post #487
rappatic wrote: post #164

I think his original sentence was absolutely deserved—even though the charge of hiring a contract killer to assassinate his business competition may have been dropped, I think it's clear he did many things in the same vein. Even if you support his original pursuit of a free and open online marketplace, I think most people would agree he took it a bridge too far in the end. That said, I do think he absolutely deserved…

"he took it a bridge too far" is a massive trivialization. The guy operated a marketplace for illegal goods in order to enrich himself. The illegality wasn't just incidental, it was literally his business model -- by flouting the law, he enjoyed massive market benefit (minimal competition, lack of regulation, high margins etc) by exploiting the arbitrage that the rest of us follow the rules. Said a different way, he…

Trump is a bit of an agorist is well. It's part of the American wild west mythical psyche, to the point America made a sport from moonshine running cars. Not hard for me to see how he half won and walked away with an unconditional pardon.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#500

Post by r0mboCom »

bko wrote: post #230
rappatic wrote: post #164

I think his original sentence was absolutely deserved—even though the charge of hiring a contract killer to assassinate his business competition may have been dropped, I think it's clear he did many things in the same vein. Even if you support his original pursuit of a free and open online marketplace, I think most people would agree he took it a bridge too far in the end. That said, I do think he absolutely deserved…

Ross Ulbricht was not sentenced for murder-for-hire charges. Those allegations were used to deny him bail and influenced public perception, they were not part of his formal conviction or sentencing. He was convicted on non-violent charges related to operating the Silk Road website, including drug distribution, computer hacking, and money laundering. Does this change your opinion of sentencing being well-deserved?

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