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Who Deserves This? (2018)

freeross.org

1–10 of 67 posts

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#2
> I don’t claim that we don’t need to keep some people separated from free society.

Like people who contract the murders of other other people, in order to keep their criminal empire, with zero remorse or appreciation what they have done? Exactly.

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#3
Just in case any of you are wondering who Ross is ...

He created the Silk Road, a popular online exchange for illegal drugs, and prosecutors alleged that he paid $730K to try to kill six people. (He was not, however, charged with attempted murder. Instead, he was charged and convicted of money laundering and drug offenses.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht

EDIT: I just want to make completely clear that I didn't post this info in an effort to discredit his essay's argument, which is that the U.S. prison system is in need of drastic reform. I agree wholeheartedly with that. I just wanted to give some context, because I didn't know who he was, and the "Who is Ross?" section of the freeross.org site makes it seem like he's an angelic Boy Scout philanthropist sweetheart.

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#4
post #2

> I don’t claim that we don’t need to keep some people separated from free society. Like people who contract the murders of other other people, in order to keep their criminal empire, with zero remorse or appreciation what they have done? Exactly.

He wasn't convicted of that, so...

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#5
post #2

> I don’t claim that we don’t need to keep some people separated from free society. Like people who contract the murders of other other people, in order to keep their criminal empire, with zero remorse or appreciation what they have done? Exactly.

He wasn't convicted of that, so...

Nor even charged

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#7
post #2

> I don’t claim that we don’t need to keep some people separated from free society. Like people who contract the murders of other other people, in order to keep their criminal empire, with zero remorse or appreciation what they have done? Exactly.

Like people who are framed? By corrupt agents, who also got sentenced by the way?

Yeah, throw away the keys. Why not send him to Guantanamo while we're at it? There are plenty of innocent people there to keep him company.

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#8
post #2

> I don’t claim that we don’t need to keep some people separated from free society. Like people who contract the murders of other other people, in order to keep their criminal empire, with zero remorse or appreciation what they have done? Exactly.

That always seemed like a frame job to me. Ross was a good kid from Westlake with utopian ideals who got in over his head, so they had to smear his character for this takedown so the public could stomach it. The FBI also stole 1600 Bitcoins in the process, so it's not like the agents involved didn't have an incentive. [1]

They wanted to make an example out of him, and to add insult to injury, they took him out on a bullshit charge so he couldn't become a martyr for his well-meaning ideals of ending prohibition.

[1] https://news.bitcoin.com/rogue-silk-road-agent-admits-to-ste...

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#9
post #3

Just in case any of you are wondering who Ross is ... He created the Silk Road, a popular online exchange for illegal drugs, and prosecutors alleged that he paid $730K to try to kill six people. (He was not, however, charged with attempted murder. Instead, he was charged and convicted of money laundering and drug offenses.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht EDIT: I just want to make completely clear that I…

That's not quite correct.

It is true that he was convicted of money laundering and drug offenses. However, during his sentencing hearing, the murder-for-hire which was never discussed or proved in court, was brought in as part of how long to lock him away.

That alone should vacate and admonish the judge for letting that scam take place.

Re: Who Deserves This? (2018)

#10
I’ve thought the punishment of Ross was extremely too harsh: life in prison without the possibility of parole. I know the government paints this picture of him as a major drug smuggler, but I think we in the tech world are smarter than that and realize creating a platform is different than selling. After all, are EBay and Amazon liable for all the counterfeit things on their page? Should Bezos go to jail?

I also think the Silk Road story would be a fascinating 2-season, 20 episode series on Netflix. Read the story linked below for a great 2 hour read.

- https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/

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