When Snowden, is my question. RFK put a lot of words into "if I am in charge that'll be my first thing". Yeah, he's not the president but he's also not nobody anymore.
I'd be worried about the Russians putting him in jail if the US pardoned him.
Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
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Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#222I had no idea this was a campaign promise. Why? I don’t understand.
* Ulbricht's conviction became a cause célèbre in American libertarian circles. * In May 2024, candidate Donald Trump said that if re-elected President, he would commute Ulbricht's sentence on his first day in office ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht I doubt Trump cares about Ulbricht as much as he cares (for whatever reason) about the continued support of various American libertarians (Robert F. Kennedy…
RFK Jr is definitely not a libertarian (even compared to someone mainstream like Gary Johnson or Jared Polis), he supports strong state intervention in many areas of the economy and society
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#223[deleted]
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#224When Snowden, is my question. RFK put a lot of words into "if I am in charge that'll be my first thing". Yeah, he's not the president but he's also not nobody anymore.
private intelligence still has a few ways to go before whistleblowers don't have all their rights stripped by the state
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#225I 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…
People have served more time for selling less drugs and attempting to murder fewer people than Ross Ulbricht did. Just because he was decent with computers does not mean he should be busted out of jail.
The attempted murder charge was dropped.
Under our system that means he should be considered innocent of it.
This conversation is messy mostly because people are refusing to do that, which is akin to vigilantism.
A good faith discussion should only involve the charge he was convicted of and pardoned for, which is the narcotics charge.
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#226How are cartels terrorist organizations but online drug markets are not illegal ?
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#227[flagged]
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#228[flagged]
Do you think it's possible the 11 years he spent in prison could have had any rehabilitation effect? Or should we jail anyone who ever commits a crime to a life sentence?
A) yes, probably
B) I don’t see this sort of leniency being offered to other drug dealers, in fact, the Trump administration wants to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations.
C) a day 1 pardon communicates that it’s a top priority of the administration that drug dealers and cop killers (Jan 6) get freed.
D) he was convicted by a jury of his peers who know full well what a judge would sentence him to. Now Trump comes out to overrule that.
The time to change sentencing would have been pre-trial. We tried doing that, but that was a massive loser electorally.
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#229Presidents and governors should NOT have the power to pardon people. And if they do it should be ONE pardon per term.
Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon
#230I 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?