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Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

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Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#331

Post by pyuser583 »

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…

This is why I love SF. It’s so small.

You can walk anywhere, and there’s a good chance something big happened nearby.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#332

Post by EricRiese »

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?

Plot twist: wolfgang42 is Ulbricht

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#333

Post by bloudermilk »

nostromo wrote: post #299

I think the attacks on some of these black and gray markets has increased violent crime in the real world. I wish the federal government would stop shutting them down and instead use them as tools to build cases against people breaking the law. For example, for a while most prostitution and sex work seemed to be online, on places like Craigslist right next to ads for used furniture and jobs. And it seemed to be reall…

I don't think much changed, really. The contraband and services offered on these marketplaces has always been backed by criminal enterprises. Mostly the markets provided level of indirection that made purchasing palatable and gave a false sense of safety.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#334

Post by UltraSane »

macintux wrote: post #283
UltraSane wrote: post #229

Presidents and governors should NOT have the power to pardon people. And if they do it should be ONE pardon per term.

The authority to pardon is one of the most direct indicators we have for the moral character of an executive.

So?

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#335

Post by decremental »

ActorNightly wrote: post #323
steve_avery wrote: post #55

Well, I think that justice has been served. The feds' prosecution of Ulbricht was the epitome of throwing the book at someone to make an example, when the government's case was pretty flawed, in my opinion. 10 years is enough time to pay the debt of running the silk road. I am glad that Ulbricht has been pardoned and I feel like a small iota of justice has been returned to the world with this action.

[flagged]

[dead]

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#336

Post by UltraSane »

dylan604 wrote: post #240
UltraSane wrote: post #229

Presidents and governors should NOT have the power to pardon people. And if they do it should be ONE pardon per term.

Until you can prove to me that all courts, judges, attorneys, and juries are above reproach and no innocent people are imprisoned there absolutely should be a method for someone to pardon. Sometimes a pardon will be issued for people you disagree with, but that’s part of it. Just like somebody will say something that pisses you off, but that’s the cost of free speech

A single person should never have the sole power to undo an unlimited number of lawful convictions. It seems like a power designed for corruption.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#337

Post by croes »

alt187 wrote: post #315
fsckboy wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wasn't there evidence of hiring a hitman to commit a murder in furtherance of the Silk Road? that's not part of "the debt of running the silk road"

The hitman was a conman for a murder on a fictitious person. While he fully believed he was committing a real assassination, you can't convict people for killing imaginary people.

This doesn’t sound like an imaginary person

https://www.vice.com/en/article/murdered-silk-road-employee-...

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#338

Post by Spooky23 »

_yb2s wrote: post #49
maplant wrote: post #5

I had no idea this was a campaign promise. Why? I don’t understand.

Trump went around to a huge number of niche communities and promised to fix their core concerns in exchange for their support. The crypto and libertarian communities are obsessed with freeing Ulbricht. It was honestly a brilliant strategy, and probably the reason he won. Ironic that an authoritarian fascist was able to get elected by enlisting the help of anti-authoritarian communities with a single issue promise.

It’s not ironic at all. The MAGA movement is really similar to how Mussolini came to power.

The campaign against barbarians (Steve Miller’s) crusade, Elons “not enough white babies” stuff, sucking up to the church (Vatican City is a Mussolini scheme), aspirations for conquest of Greenland and Panama, etc are all analogous to the maga playbook.

Most people are clueless. There are idiots who think they are getting $1 eggs next week. Riling up weirdos like libertarians lets the movement punch above their weight.

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#339

Post by buckle8017 »

zanek wrote: post #327
steve_avery wrote: post #55

Well, I think that justice has been served. The feds' prosecution of Ulbricht was the epitome of throwing the book at someone to make an example, when the government's case was pretty flawed, in my opinion. 10 years is enough time to pay the debt of running the silk road. I am glad that Ulbricht has been pardoned and I feel like a small iota of justice has been returned to the world with this action.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading the comments on this thread. Multiple teenagers (one in Australia) died from the drugs distributed on Silk Road. Ross was ok with selling grenades, body parts, etc on there. But everyone is saying he served his time ???

Body parts? huh

Re: Ross Ulbricht granted a full pardon

#340

Post by reg_dunlop »

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…

I'm more interested in the subtext of the pardon.

Why this person specifically? And why at this time? Perhaps the discussion shouldn't be about the actual subject of the pardon, and perhaps more about the motives of the pardoner...

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