Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht Sentenced to Life in Prison

[Buffer Overflow]

This sentence is way over the top. Life sentence without parole?

There's no hope.

[1714617299]

1714617299

[1714617299]

1714617299

[1714617299]

1714617299

[1714617299]

1714617299

[1714617299]

1714617299

[1714617299]

1714617299

[opossum]

Yeah was it 15 or 25-life? No way he got life without parole that is just insanity! I mean he had a damn website he wasn't out molesting and killing people.

No because if he was out doing the molesting he would be just like them and more than likely get of with a very low sentence at worst, the fact that he was bringing some freedom to people is probably a big part of the life sentence. I have to agree it is insanity but this is the world we now live in, it is ran by the insane so of course everything will turn insane as we are getting to witness.

[mcplums]

Why has no one mentioned the fact that he paid to get various people killed? Surely this was the primary reason for the lengthy sentence?

Not even the BBC news page of this story ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32941060 ) mentions this. I don't understand it at all.

He was convicted of paying for 6 murders. There was no proof of any of these murders.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/29/technology/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-prison-sentence/index.html

The judge also said there was "no doubt" that Ulbricht had paid for murders. Prosecutors have alleged he commissioned six murders-for-hire while operating Silk Road, though there is no evidence that these murders were carried out.

Personally I don't think it's relevant whether or not people were actually murdered, it should have minimal effect on his sentence. What I am wondering however was the extent to which the life without parole was due to the murder for hire, or the silk road thing. Maybe if it was just silk road he would have got the minimum 20 years?

[NorrisK]

It is clearly to set a strong example.. They don't want 10 others to do the same. If they give 20 years some people will take their chance..

[mcplums]

According to http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/29/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-sentenced Ross was never even charged for the murder for hires. So the sentence is 100% due to his involvement with silk road and drugs. And that absurd.

It is fucking ridiculous to me that they feel him taking an existing market and making it significantly safer is seen as WORSE behaviour than paying to get people murdered. Fucking ridiculous.

[xDan]

Unsurprising, but sad.

Maybe one day drugs will be decriminalised, and people like him will get a pardon. It's what we need to work on and petition for.

There is little doubt at all that he is "guilty" under current laws.

Jesus Christ that's ridiculous.
He's just been sentenced to a longer jail term than you'd get for a double homicide or something.
It's absolutely insane, he never handled any drugs himself, he was just an intermediary source, man in the middle type thing.
It's awful, I feel for the guy.
Can he appeal this at all?

I think they got some people in testifying that their dumb ass kids or some such had died from drugs on Silk Road.

Let's imprison all skateboard manufacturers while we are at it.

The only charges he should be facing are those of murder for hire, which don't really appear to have been proved in any way.

[QuestionAuthority]

If they're going to give him life they should just kill him. He's young, he could potentially live another 50 years in prison. At $30k per year to house a federal prisoner, that judge just cost the taxpayers $1,500,000.00. I hope something bad happens to that judge for wasting all that money. Not critical bad but bad, like tonight I hope he has a really painful bowel movement that ruptures a hemorrhoid.

[mcplums]

Unsurprising, but sad.

Maybe one day drugs will be decriminalised, and people like him will get a pardon. It's what we need to work on and petition for.

There is little doubt at all that he is "guilty" under current laws.

Jesus Christ that's ridiculous.
He's just been sentenced to a longer jail term than you'd get for a double homicide or something.
It's absolutely insane, he never handled any drugs himself, he was just an intermediary source, man in the middle type thing.
It's awful, I feel for the guy.
Can he appeal this at all?

I think they got some people in testifying that their dumb ass kids or some such had died from drugs on Silk Road.

Let's imprison all skateboard manufacturers while we are at it.

The only charges he should be facing are those of murder for hire, which don't really appear to have been proved in any way.

You echo my thoughts 100%.

[chalkboard17]

Saddest thing I came across today. Not gonna say I will be depressed or lose sleep at night, but definitely ruined my night. I am feeling for the guy. Shocking witch-hunt story.
Americans, you are all part of this. You are financing his and many other people lose of freedom. It's your money. Hope you feel proud how your tax money is being spent and you do nothing about it, most even think it is right.
I find it amazing american citizens support government tyranny acts such as imprisoning pacific people + invading and destroying countries all the time. Well, it's your money anyway, hope you are all having some fun having YOUR MONEY spent on tyranny worldwide. So much for the land of the free...

[forevernoob]

Wow that's really harsh.
I really hate drugs and the harm they do.
But putting this guy in prison for the rest of his life won't end drug abuse.

[Trifixion713]

This sentence is way over the top. Life sentence without parole?

There's no hope.

Yeah, and just yesterday they gave a pedophile here 7 years probation - with no fine - and Ulbricht gets life in federal with no parole.

[Blackbird0]

So to provide a little context for some folks:

1. Yes it's harsh, but not unusual.

Persons dealing in very large amounts of drugs regularly get life sentences in the United States. Ulbricht is not unusual in this regard. This is all part and parcel of the war on drugs.

2. Yes, Ulbricht can appeal.

Ulbricht has a few options after this. First, he's going to be able to move for the U.S. District Court in which he has been tried, and that's before Judge Forrest, for a new trial. Ultimately, once these motions at the trial court level are denied, he is going to be able to appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which sits in New York.

At the Second Circuit, Ulbricht will be able to pursue what is called his "direct appeal." This will be before a three judge panel of the Second Circuit. They will hear any appeals of any legal issues that are during the appeal, but not factual issues. That is, you cannot appeal a fact that the jury found, just because you don't like it.

After that, Ulbricht appeals by "right" for the direct appeal will end. Ulbricht could appeal to the full Second Circuit (in what's called an "en banc" appeal). This would be a discretionary appeal, where it takes a majority of the active Second Circuit judges to vote to hear the appeal. If that is denied, or if it rules against Ulbricht, he can then appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, in which it would take four votes of the nine judges to hear his case. This is highly unlikely.

Then, we move on to what we call a "collateral" appeal or an application for a writ of habeas corpus on the basis of (most likely) ineffective assistance of counsel. He will apply for this writ to the U.S. District Court, and then that case will go through the same appeals process I outlined above.

3. This will take a long time. It will probably take at least a year or two for his case to be heard at the Second Circuit Court.

4. There is no parole in the Federal system. A sentence of "life" means a sentence of "life."

5. This is a federal court. Federal courts are different than state courts. So comparisons to what happens in a state court isn't really all that apt here.

[coinpr0n]

Extremely sad situation. I would classify the ruling as unfair in the least if not just plain ludicrous.

[xDan]

tonight I hope he has a really painful bowel movement that ruptures a hemorrhoid.

I second this motion.

[neurotypical]

Life in prison without the possibility of parole... Meanwhile cops are murdering our citizens at an alarming rate and not even being charged. The United States of America, Sad to say this is my country.

Yeah, even if what i've read is true (that apparently he was trying to get a hitmen to kill some whistleblowers or some shit), the fact cops get away with killing blacks like it's nothing is frustrating.

[Bit_Happy]

More than 20 years - one link suggested he was convicted on different counts and it added up to 40 years, no parole.

So should be out in his 60s.  He will have spent more life in prison than outside of it.

Did you not read the sentencing? He is not getting out in his 60's. The only way he is getting out is if on appeal they can reduce his sentence. But I don't think the prosecution is looking to make any deals in this case. The judge is going to make sure they hammer the worst sentence possible. Unless they can knock some charges off but it is not looking good. King pin charges are pretty stiff and it usually one of the worst when it comes to drugs. Maybe a white house petition can get him a pardon someday.

Obama and Hillary will not help, but there is a chance Rand Paul would set him free, if he ever gets a chance.

[teukon]

From the judge (Katherine Forrest) on handing out the sentence:

The stated purpose [of Silk Road] was to be beyond the law. In the world you created over time, democracy didn’t exist.

Silk Road’s birth and presence asserted that its…creator was better than the laws of this country.  This is deeply troubling, terribly misguided, and very dangerous.

The war on drugs is widely recognised as greatly destructive.  Almost every human is individually "better" than this war.  There is clearly significant demand out there for a market which is "beyond [US] law".  This as a sign that the US government is too powerful and interfering.

That a judge cannot see any value in true liberty is deeply troubling.  That voluntary association should be considered necessarily inferior to democracy is terribly misguided.  That US law should be considered the ultimate source of right and wrong is very dangerous.

[Beliathon]

My feelings captured succinctly in this statement to the court by one Eugene V. Debs:

"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

Honestly though, I'm not selfless enough to serve a prison sentence like that for the sake of my family or anyone else. I don't know about Ross, but I've already experienced more than my fair share of suffering. Kudos to Ross if he can ride it out, but if I was him I'd find some way to kill myself rather than exist as walking dead in prison conditions. To be fair though, the thought of even one year in prison makes me feel that way, public school indoctrination alone was almost enough to drive me mad. Remember kids, there is nothing to fear in death. Only suffering is worth being afraid of.

Yours in compassion and solidarity,

World Citizen Beliathon

[futureofbitcoin]

I don't sympathize AT ALL with Ross Ulbricht. However, I don't think the court made a good decision. Ross gave away 100k+ bitcoins - for what? life in prison? future criminals will know not to give their coins away so easily.

[cozk]

They got him real good. Real good.