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FWIW I have a hard time having sympathy for a drug kingpin hacker doing hard time. Mess with the best, die like the rest.
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…
These 7-year-old allegations relied solely on anonymous chats NEVER proven to have been authored by Ulbricht. It's well known now there were multiple people behind the DPR accounts AND 2 corrupt agents (now in prison) had admin access too. Never proven, never prosecuted and dismissed "with prejudice" by the govt, meaning they can never be used against him again. Ross was NOT accused of selling drugs or laundering mon…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
These 7-year-old allegations relied solely on anonymous chats NEVER proven to have been authored by Ulbricht. It's well known now there were multiple people behind the DPR accounts AND 2 corrupt agents (now in prison) had admin access too. Never proven, never prosecuted and dismissed "with prejudice" by the govt, meaning they can never be used against him again. Ross was NOT accused of selling drugs or laundering mon…
Given that he was never charged with those attempted murders, I’m sympathetic to the argument that it should not have been used against him at sentencing. But practically, it always seemed to me fairly obvious that he did author those messages. Do you not think that’s the case?
Also, you're missing any sort of source/claim to back that it "seemed fairly obvious".
I agree the punishment is to harsh for drug smuggling, but if he did attempt to murder six people, then it's not. He should have his day in court for attempted murder.
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 thin…
Except Amazon doesn't have a category called "Counterfeit Beats Headphones". Silk Road had categories for items that were explicitly illegal; those categories were created by site administrators. The "just a marketplace" argument doesn't really pass the test; SR was complicit. I can't open a flea market with a section called "Cocaine" and claim innocence when merchants actually sell Cocaine. However, I agree his puni…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
These 7-year-old allegations relied solely on anonymous chats NEVER proven to have been authored by Ulbricht. It's well known now there were multiple people behind the DPR accounts AND 2 corrupt agents (now in prison) had admin access too. Never proven, never prosecuted and dismissed "with prejudice" by the govt, meaning they can never be used against him again. Ross was NOT accused of selling drugs or laundering mon…
Nick Bilton did extensive research for his book American Kingpin and it all supports the theory that Ulbricht was the only DPR.
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All of them.
Seems like you also think that Mark Zuckerberg runs my FB profile? IMHO that is a very unproductive way of thought. Also (on top of absence of practical correctness) most likely formally incorrect, but I'm not a English native speaker. Definitely would be invalid in my language though.
Every stitch of evidence says he did. Defenders will make two claims: 1. he was never charged – despite the fact the schemes were absolutely a part of the conspiracy charges he was convicted of or 2. the evidence was planted!
The first fact being provably untrue and the second being impossible to disprove.
Prison is a dark, and horrendous existence. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I would spend a lifetime avoiding it. I believe in rehabilitation and remorse. I don't believe in "throwing away" people who make mistakes.
But once you've decided that the death of one person is worth less than the "value" of your business, a business specifically designed to thwart obvious laws for your own profit, I have a hard time finding sympathy for you, beyond the basic sympathy I'd extend anyone who is being forced to live with the consequences of their actions.