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Free Ross Ulbricht

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Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#21

Post by blackshaw »

ddalex wrote: post #18
Synaesthesia wrote: post #6

It was totally a political trial with many exaggerations and the government trying to "set an example". - First-time offender - All non-violent charges - Two life sentences plus 40 years without parole >Ross Ulbricht is condemned to die in prison for creating an anonymous e-commerce website called Silk Road. An entrepreneur passionate about free markets and privacy, he was 26 when he made the site. He was never prose…

Didn't this guy try to hire a hitman ?

According to Wikipedia, Ulbricht allegedly tried to hire a hitman to murder at least five people, but this wasn't actually something he was formally charged with at trial.

> Federal prosecutors alleged that Ulbricht had paid $730,000 in murder-for-hire deals targeting at least five people,[27] allegedly because they threatened to reveal Ulbricht's Silk Road enterprise.[36] Prosecutors believe no contracted killing actually occurred.[27] Ulbricht was not charged in his trial in New York federal court with any murder for hire,[27][37] but evidence was introduced at trial supporting the allegations.[27][38] The evidence that Ulbricht had commissioned murders was considered by the judge in sentencing Ulbricht to life, and was a factor in the Second Circuit's decision to affirm the life sentence.[38]

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#22

Post by AndyMcConachie »

You could say all the same things for any other victims of America's drug war. IMO the drug war should end and all non-violent drug offenders should be released.

But the American economy depends on prison slavery, and they need the drug war to continue creating slaves.

https://unicor.gov/

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#23

Post by duped »

I think it's disingenuous to say the Silk Road was used for anything but selling black market goods, predominantly drugs.

It's fine to say that someone shouldn't go to prison for life for running a business centered on selling drugs without violence (hitman non withstanding), and I think you could even argue that the drugs got more dangerous for kids once it went down (there was a decent time period when kids didn't have to worry if what they bought as cocaine, MDMA, or aderall was just meth). But trying to claim the Silk Road wasn't Amazon for drugs is just dishonest.

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#24

Post by ryan_j_naughton »

DoItToMe81 wrote: post #10

I think people who facilitate the sale of community destroying hard drugs deserve punishment, but this trial was a farce. The media ran ceaseless stories making it sound like he was selling guns to terrorists and child abuse material. There's no way he could have been fairly judged by a jury with how prevalent that type of reporting was.

> I think people who facilitate the sale of community destroying hard drugs deserve punishment

Alcohol is undeniably a hard drug. It:

1) is extremely physically addictive

2) causes many overdoses and deaths. More than opiates or cocaine.

At the same time, there is tons of compelling evidence that:

A) making alcohol illegal in the 20s/30s didn't decrease consumption at all and simply increased the danger of consuming tainted alcohol.

B) that prohibition fueled the rise of organized crime in the US

C) that countries with decriminalized drugs and harm reduction policies actually have reduced drug consumption, like Portugal.

Thus, your statement seems entirely incorrect. It actually seems that punishing those who sell hard drugs actually makes it worse for everyone.

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#25

Post by scoofy »

You can’t give a gigantic middle finger to the social contract and expect to be treated with kid gloves.

I think the sentence was excessive, but then again I didn’t run a website for years for the expressed purpose of facilitating and profiting from the illegal international drug trade.

The idea that he would just be released and not then immediately charged by another nation is naive.

I’m genuinely shocked that this is getting attention from anyone but libertarian ideologues.

Edit: I’m fine with your downvotes. Nobody wants to discuss the level of taboo breaking the Silk Road caused simply because it’s actually not entirely difficult to operate. People get made examples of.

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#26

Post by xboxnolifes »

ryan_j_naughton wrote: post #24
DoItToMe81 wrote: post #10

I think people who facilitate the sale of community destroying hard drugs deserve punishment, but this trial was a farce. The media ran ceaseless stories making it sound like he was selling guns to terrorists and child abuse material. There's no way he could have been fairly judged by a jury with how prevalent that type of reporting was.

> I think people who facilitate the sale of community destroying hard drugs deserve punishment Alcohol is undeniably a hard drug. It: 1) is extremely physically addictive 2) causes many overdoses and deaths. More than opiates or cocaine. At the same time, there is tons of compelling evidence that: A) making alcohol illegal in the 20s/30s didn't decrease consumption at all and simply increased the danger of consuming…

You conveniently redefined what most anyone would consider not a hard drug as a hard drug to make your point.

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#27

Post by superchroma »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #14
superchroma wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"First-time offender, All non-violent charges, Two life sentences + 40 years without parole" Seems pretty clear cut. I would like to take this moment to remind you that Ghislane Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years.

US judges are free to sentence a convict for allegations of which he was acquitted. Sentencing him for allegations that were dismissed isn't really different.

Yes I know they are free to do that but that doesn't mean that it's fair.

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#28

Post by [deleted] »

DoItToMe81 wrote: post #12
avalys wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does "largely overinflated" mean, and how does it differ from "completely fabricated"?

The FBI accepted that multiple people were behind the DreadPirateRoberts account and that the writing style did not match his. He was ultimately not charged with it, but the story was used to slander him and make him seem dangerous and violent.

[deleted]

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#29

Post by jjallen »

blackshaw wrote: post #21
ddalex wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't this guy try to hire a hitman ?

According to Wikipedia, Ulbricht allegedly tried to hire a hitman to murder at least five people, but this wasn't actually something he was formally charged with at trial. > Federal prosecutors alleged that Ulbricht had paid $730,000 in murder-for-hire deals targeting at least five people,[27] allegedly because they threatened to reveal Ulbricht's Silk Road enterprise.[36] Prosecutors believe no contracted killing ac…

"no contracted killing actually occurred"

Isn't it illegal to hire people to kill people even if they aren't actually killed? Like when the police go undercover they don't wait for someone to be killed, they wait for definitive evidence that the hiring person seriously plans to follow through with it I thought.

Re: Free Ross Ulbricht

#30

Post by root_axis »

Several posts on this thread (as well as TFA) have suggested the hitman for hire was slander to paint Ulbricht in a bad light. This is not true.

> At the sentencing hearing, the district court resolved several disputed issues of fact. For example, because Ulbricht contested his responsibility for the five commissioned murders for hire, the district court found by a preponderance of the evidence that Ulbricht did in fact commission the murders, believing that they would be carried out. The district court characterized the evidence of the murders for hire, which included Ulbricht's journal, chats with other Silk Road users, and the evidence showing that Ulbricht actually paid a total of $650,000 in Bitcoins for the killings, as “ample and unambiguous.” App'x 1465.

From https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1862572.html

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