Topic: 2 life sentences +40 years for The Silk Road creator (PETITION FOR CLEMENCY) SIG - page 2. (Read 627 times)

No!!! But I do believe he deserves a reduced sentence. The man who raped an murdered my Aunt recieved 15 years.... Shits fucked up with the justice system. If ross did murder for hire why did the government drop all accusations and just STOPPED PURSUING IT like someone else mentioned?  He never forced anyone to buy or sell drugs. If they decided to just WALK AWAY he did not go kill their family. In my eyes he was a first time offender /drug dealer and should do a dime at most!

He is guilty of Silk Road and deserves some punishment. But life?? It is unreasonable!

He profited off the game and got greedy, Paid to have people killed.  He's a gangster. You says it was just for running a website, no it wasn't just for that. He facilitated as the creator of this website, the buying and selling of drugs, and black market activities internationally. Thats illegal. He broke laws and he got caught. Yeah i get it, it's cool he started this whole new era of Black market E-commerce, but fuck man, he got caught breaking the LAW. He unlocked pandora's box in some sense. Pros and cons but i'm looking at the aspect of him breaking the law which he did. So that's why they put him in there to rot. Of course now we know the threat of punishment does not deter crime, but when has that stopped the US govt from locking people up and enslaving them.

The first of its type which is why he was nailed to the wall for it. People who came and will come after him will get much lighter sentences for the exact same thing.

I think he was a penis and this reframing of him as some type of freedom fighter is ludicrous. If he really meant it he would've released the code and a how to guide and walked away. I have zero sympathy for him. I do for his sentence though. It's clearly revenge more than justice.

I'd buy the assassination thing if he'd been convicted of it. They didn't even bother pursuing it which says enough.

My feeling is that there's still a huge amount of unknowns surrounding the people behind Silk Road that'll take years to filter out. I believe he's guilty as fuck but there are many more things waiting to be unearthed.

I'm sorry - but you legitimately think that he deserves clemency?  Are you completely informed about the situation?  In my opinion, Ross is not completely innocent.

2 years life sentences just because he runs a dark website? Well, in as much as the petition might help,  many people might not want to participate because of the fear of being tagged as members and users of the website. And I guess why he was given the two years sentence is because he knew the site was being used for illegal activities but still runs it.

Read my first post. I did watch it, but it seems to be a puff piece filled with lies and anything Ross can do to try shift blame. I'm not disputing whether he was charged or not for the murder, but it's still relevant in my opinion, especially to him as a person. Ross could just be the libertarian he set out or claimed to be, or the money, power and anonymity could have corrupted him and turned him into a digital drug lord who thought he was untouchable and will take out his enemies if he thinks they're a threat to him and his business.  I hope for his sake it isn't true but we don't really know either way yet and that's what we need to establish. All I see so far from that documentary is desperate lies based on circumstantial evidence by Ross which doesn't look good for his character, especially if he's trying to pin this on an innocent man. That to me would be despicable.


I agree and I also think the Dutch have a pretty good system. Mere drug use isn't a disease but drug addiction is. Most people can enjoy drugs occasionally and in moderation. Most people can drink or have the occasional cigarette, joint or even harder drugs and wont get addicted. If you're using drugs to self-medicate for whatever physical or mental pain you have then you'll likely quickly find yourself in trouble and addicted and that's when it becomes an issue especially if you start stealing and hurting others to feed your addiction.


True, but he didn't create the forum. Ross was even caught because he first used this forum to promote Silk Road and used contact info and handles that was eventually traced personally back to him. If he hadn't have done that then he might still be a free man. I'm not sure why he's trying to shift blame here because when it's proven that you set up the site and admit to that, and are caught running it at the very end, then that's pretty open and shut. Karpeles  was initially a suspect and his ties may make for some circumstantial evidence but I think he's innocent of being involved with the running of it directly.

Sometimes people do some stupid things without fully considering the consequences.

I've seen the consequences of drug addiction on people I care about and people I have assisted professionally. I have also been the victim of serious crime that was drug induced. It is all very ugly. (I personally have never taken recreational drugs)

It can result in parents having to disown their children because they now steal, lie and abuse (physically and emotionally).

Parents abandoning their own children in favor of drugs.

People who sell drugs are often addicts themselves or motivated by greed. They don't consider the scrounge drugs is on the rest of society.

I personally like the Dutch model of dealing with addicts - where they are considered "sick" rather than criminals. (Unless they offend in some other way)

I've written an extensive article about Silk Road and how it related to Bitcointalk: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/silk-road-and-bitcointalk-how-it-played-a-role-in-its-rise-and-fall-4437773


Karpeles was deeply involved with this forum. Receiving honorary VIP status for the resources he donated to this forum. Karpeles provided the hosting for Bitcointalk for many years.

He also audited the site after the first hack https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcointalk-history-of-hacks-and-vandalism-4405796
Ironically the first hack resulted in the second hack and the malicious code had not been found.



I think Karpeles was a victim of circumstances. He did mislead investors about the liquidity of the exchange and did some dodgy stuff with bots but he would have been a wealthy man if he hadn't set up the exchange and just held onto his bitcoins.


He bought an insolvent exchange from  Jed McCalib (Ripple founder).
I wrote about MtGox here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcointalk-history-of-mtgox-and-how-a-bitcointalk-post-caught-the-mtgox-hacker-4412667

He has co-operated with WizSec in the investigation of the missing MtGox funds.

While I believe Karpeles was implicated in a minor role with Silk Road (As client, vendor or laundry) - I do not think he was DPR. (Based on just opinion - not evidence)
Regardless of whether he was or not - he would have likely had some resources at his disposal that allowed him to have some idication as to who DPR was due to the amount of bitcoin going to and from Silk road and ending up on MtGox.


Some people in the FBI suspect that Karpeles was heavily involved so it is not just a desperate accusation.



What concerns me the most about the case is how badly the evidence got compromised. Often referred to as "fruit from the poisoned tree".

Two of the undercover Secret Service agents got convicted for trying to steal Silk Rd funds. Anything those Agents have done or touched now in my view is unreliable evidence. Potentially tampered with for selfish gain.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/ex-fed-in-silk-road-case-pleads-guilty-to-new-money-laundering-charges/

He obviously was made an example. They were trying to scare other potential hackers and black market entrepreneurs.
He was guilty of running a drug marketplace, knew this was against the law and did it anyway because it was a great business. We all understand that. He got caught and should do time like people who run drug operations. 15 years would be a high sentence for such a young man with no priors, but he got life instead, like a mass murderer. US justice system is a joke.

I will move it once someone else verifies As I already have twice. Never seen that before lol MOVE TOPIC

Look it up they are making a documentary from Ross's own mothers words you can watch the first episode at

freeross.org/railroaded

Episode 2 October 9th!

Look it up the government threw at the murder/murder for hire charge after being sentenced life for being the Creator of Silk Roadmurder is not on his record All Non Violent. And 1ST TIME OFFENSE!!!

I know they were dropped from the trial he was sentenced for, but I think the murder charges are still pending (or at least was) somewhere. Do you have evidence that the FBI were in control of Silk Road/DPR when the attempted assassinations took place? If so then that would change things, but the fact that he was still caught red handed logged in as DPR makes me skeptical of these claims.


This is stupid. Firstly, they didn't allow assassinations. It was basically just a drug marketplace. Secondly, people should be free to take whatever drugs they want and the state shouldn't have any say in what you can and can't take. Ross or Silk Road didn't force anyone to take drugs and they did that of their own free will. You had to have made a determined effort to even find the site and it's not like you stumble upon it by accident and even if you did nobody forced you to make a purchase. I would even make the case that Silk Road probably saved more lives in the grand scheme of things because people could buy 'quality' or "safer" drugs from trusted sources rather than buying from unknown street dealers who could be selling you pure poison for all you know. If you think drugs are bad and dealers should be punished then fair enough, that's your opinion, but then so should nightclubs and 7-Eleven for selling alcohol and cigarettes.


lol. Come on now. You're either a fool or a troll if you make such statements like that. How can the rape of a child be worse than someone giving you the option of buying drugs. The only thing that Ross did that would be on the same or similar level of criminality is the attempted murder charges if true.


It was no doubt to make an example of him, but I still find life in prison for setting up a drug marketplace to be very harsh (not taking into consideration the attempted murder charges). Actual drug dealers and drug trafficking gangsters have got much lesser sentences than him.



They didn't allow them on Silk Road. It was basically just drugs. The murder for hire plot was something that he (or whoever was in control of the DPR account at the time) organized behind the scenes.



I would be with you on this. I can only hope that it isn't true, but I'll need to see some evidence that it could or probably was the FBI before I make my mind up.

Should Phillips Morris get life in prison for manufacturing cigarettes that kill people? I await your hypocrisy.....

How many people did Ross force to use his website? I await your non answer.....

Is Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals responsible for opioid deaths? This should be good.....

As much as I love freedom and privacy, and while possibly the sentence for Ross is probably out of proportion (I believe they went all in with him to scare anyone attempting to do the same, and therefore get them scared and not attempt to do so) I just cannot defend this guy.

Anyone allowing for a market assassination has no ethics, let alone actually hiring some hitmen to kill some people as I believe he attempted or actually did. That is completely fucked up and psychopathic. The more people like these are stopped, the better the world becomes.

Some people lose perspective of what is wrong and right when it comes to freedom and privacy.
If you are going to be anonymous, behave and don't go around threatening people, that's simply how a coward looks like. And certainly don't host a platform to put a price on people's lives.
Sorry but im not signing this one.

This guy deserves to stay in prison , he created a marketplace for drug dealers and assassins.  You know how many people died because of Ross.

"No Violence No Child PORNOGRAPHY" does that sound like a monster.

At least child porn doesn't result in death.  What Ross did was actually worse.

Charles Manson got life for convincing people to murder, he didn't commit the murder himself but he is still at fault.

The assasinations were dropped the fbi had full control of DPR when they were posted. That is quite shady. Whether he did or did not we will never know but how do off alll the time it was around the only assasination attempts where after they had gained access and were already posting as DPR. That is why they weere dropped. So you should not judge his sentencing  Off of  charges that were dropped.

That is where I originally posted it. I was then told to move it to the Meta section (as I was told to do so via PM)  From there I was told to move it to the Bitcoin Discussion section. So I then asked since I cannot delete it that I should edit it and just post the link or say NEVERMIND  moved. The pharmacist said no it would be ok to lock your topic and move it here. I am and now I am being told to move it back to off topic.... I am trying to do this right....

His punishment is certainly harsh, especially if we're merely taking into the consideration that he just set up and ran the site (disregarding any other charges that may or may not be true or had been dropped). Ross would have had my sympathy if he truly was just some entrepreneurial libertarian who believed in freedom and the freedom for people to use drugs, but things obviously took a darker turn here. I'm not claiming to know all the facts surrounding this case and I do not know if Ross was 100% solely behind the running of the site, but I don't like how he has conducted himself since his arrest in trying to save his own skin by passing on the blame to whoever else he thinks he can finger. I just watched the first episode of that Railroaded documentary on him that you provided in the op and it seems like a complete puff piece filled with lies just to try get him out of jail. He's trying to blame Karpeles with some very circumstantial evidence, and even claims he was behind the creation of this forum (is Karpeles Satoshi now?). I can understand that there's not a lot of options for Ross when he's in jail for life without the possibility of parole and he's obviously just desperately trying anything he can to shift blame and strengthen his case so there's at least some light at the end of the tunnel for him, but trying to pass the blame on to others who are probably 100% innocent here is disturbing. Ross is making out like he just created the site as a libertarian market and quickly passed it on to somebody else, yet he was caught logged into the site as the administrator at the time of his arrest. What's his excuse for that? He was literally caught red-handed.


If this is true, and it looks to be, then this is when he lost my respect and he should be treated like a power-hungry cartel kingpin. The only way he would be innocent of this if he wasn't in charge of the DPR account at that time, but when you get caught red handed running the site I find his excuses hard to believe.


El Chapo's trial hasn't even started yet. It starts next month unless it gets delayed again. He'll probably get life also, unless he has some genius lawyer. If he does get a lesser sentence than Ross then that will be a joke, but it also depends on what evidence they can actually present at trial.

Rather than starting a new topic each time about the same thing on various boards  (which is against the rules) you should move this to "off topic".

Silkroad is not really bitcoin nor altcoin discussion.

Move is at the bottom left of the page



If you want to know about the history of Silk road https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/silk-road-and-bitcointalk-how-it-played-a-role-in-its-rise-and-fall-4437773


DPR - Ross tried to get several people assassinated.
Paying hitmen $650,000 to kill five people.
https://www.wired.com/2015/02/read-transcript-silk-roads-boss-ordering-5-assassinations/

That doesn't really fall under "he could not help other people posted assasinations". 

You can argue hat people were hurt because of silk road but he was one man trying to control hundreds of thousands he had rules he could not help other people posted assasinations, he had to stay hidden who could he reach out to if you blame him for that, than blame Bitcoin for being untraceable! He believed in privacy. He stood up for what he believed in.

El chapo is serving 20 years?? Ross LIFE research the case then come back and debate. What the news showed and what happened at trial and was proven at trial is another thing check the facts then I will be willing to discuss or debate my opinion!

I am trying to find the right thread please be patient with me as I am new.
Previously posted in meta. (Locked topic there was told to move here)



Do you believe the punishment fits the crime YES or NO???