Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon • Hacker News Board

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#271

Post by remram » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:27 AM UTC

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…

> When the FBI agents stopped to have a drink I thought

You mean "when I read the part where the FBI agents stopped to have a drink I thought"?

This part makes your comment super confusing. Where you there then or later?

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#272

Post by latentcall » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:28 AM UTC

hypeatei wrote: post #52

This is a rare Trump win. There are many things to criticize him for, but this pardon isn't one of them. I don't think anyone, after researching this case, would be okay with the life sentence handed down to Ross.

Most people in real life don’t even know who this guy is. This is a guy that online people know. I will agree it’s a win, he was unfairly sentenced. I just wish I would have been able to buy from SR. I did get to browse it before it was seized.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#273

Post by nuclearnice3 » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:28 AM UTC

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?

This opinion [1] from the judge in his case indicates that the murder-for-hire evidence was admitted during his trial. The document outlines the evidence for all 6 murder for hire allegations and explains why, although not charged, the evidence is relevant to his case.

[1] https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1391...

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#274

Post by j-bos » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:31 AM UTC

paulsutter wrote: post #262

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…

Wait, you were reading about his arrest while he was being arrested? That article was written after his conviction?

He first read the article while sitting where Ulbricht was when Ulbricht was arrested.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#275

Post by blast » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:33 AM UTC

sidcool wrote: post #270

I'm indifferent to him being pardoned. But people saying he didn't deserve any punishment seems weird to me.

To me too. But life without parole seemed weird as well.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#276

Post by beejiu » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:34 AM UTC

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…

I assume you mean "I could look up and see exactly the chair he had been in" figuratively?

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#277

Post by plsbenice34 » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:35 AM UTC

thfuran wrote: post #144

macinjosh wrote: post #89

I am happy to see that Trump is a man of his word. I voted for him just because of this campaign promise. I would have voted for almost anyone who promised this.

How could that possibly be the most important political issue?

I am very sympathetic to the idea of voting just for Ross. It is unclear to me which candidate would be better, since neither of them are close to my political beliefs at all. It is a deadlock and I seem completely unrepresented. The consequences of voting based on any big issues I care about seems completely unpredictable; politics is a game of lies, smoke and mirrors. So I would perhaps rather vote for the candidate that would definitely save one person's life that is important to me.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#278

Post by wolfgang42 » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:35 AM UTC

syspec wrote: post #264

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…

Sorry, it went over my head a bit, you read about his arrest while he was being arrested?

He was being arrested in the article, not IRL. When I say “Ulbricht walked into the public library and sat down at the table directly in front of me” I mean that I read

> He went... past the periodicals and reference desk, beyond the romance novels, and settled in at a circular table near science fiction, on the second floor... in a corner, with a view out the window and his back toward the wall.

and realized that I was in the Glen Park public library, at a circular table near science fiction on the second floor, in a corner with my back to the window, and facing directly towards where the article had just said he had sat.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#279

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:36 AM UTC

remram wrote: post #271

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…

> When the FBI agents stopped to have a drink I thought You mean "when I read the part where the FBI agents stopped to have a drink I thought"? This part makes your comment super confusing. Where you there then or later?

[deleted]

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#280

Post by inopinatus » Wed, Jan 22, 2025, 2:36 AM UTC

remram wrote: post #271

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…

> When the FBI agents stopped to have a drink I thought You mean "when I read the part where the FBI agents stopped to have a drink I thought"? This part makes your comment super confusing. Where you there then or later?

I believe they are suggesting an experience of imaginatively visualising the events of the arrest linearly as they were narrated in their read-through of the article, serendipitously aided by being physically present at the same location, and are referencing the article's narration partially in the present tense to similarly immerse us in medias res as we follow their remark.

Alternatively, they are themselves Ross Ulbricht, describing an out-of-body fever dream or post-traumatic flashback. This seems ... somewhat less likely.