Topic: Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht Sentenced to Life in Prison - page 36. (Read 50169 times)

In few years, when they legalize half of the stuff that was available on Silk Road, his punishment will become even more ridiculous, not to mention false laws at the first place. We're not living in the free world, we're living in fucking Matrix, I feel real sorry for him.

firm but fair

Well said!

Anybody seen the movie: "Kill the messenger"?
How about the documentary: Freeway: Crack in the system ?

I thought that they confiscated all his illegal earnings from Silk Road when they arrested him? Don't see how he'd have that much money after that.

As to his sentence, I must admit I feel it a bit long considering that murderers and rapists get less (although I do have some belief in the allegation he ordered murders) but it was sort of predictable given that the state wanted to make a major example out of him to prevent others. The thing that bugs me is that the parents of drug overdosers blame him (which might be partially true) and not their kids at all. If you taught you're kids or prevented their drug abuse they wouldn't have been overdosed in the first place. It's like blaming the gun store for the gunman who kills everyone.

Does he even have that much money in bitcoins or is that just a number the USG made up based off their estimates of something?

After he pays back the 180+ million dollars, I'd imagine.


That said, it's true some people live much better lives while in prison/house arrest than 99% of people will ever enjoy.

Yep, we called this in the poll thread. His only hope is proving reversible error in Federal District Court of Appeals. A pardon isn't going to happen IMO.

As to being worse than death, it really depends on his mind set. On one hand, he's still alive, but not free. After a term of institutionalization, it becomes an everyday way of life he might adjust to. Others never adjust, go stir crazy and are always plotting ways to escape and some try to escape periodically. Its drives others insane. He is relatively young, so he may be able to adjust.

Personally, I would rather be alive and in prison than dead, so long as I was not being tortured. In federal prison he can continue his education, read, watch tv, listen to the radio, work, practice hobbies, even use the internet email to message friends and relatives, etc. Plus if he has money sent and/or earns money in prison, he can buy lots of quality of life items to make his stay less unpleasant - http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flm/FLX_CommList.pdf - Something tells me he is always going to have lots of money in his prison account to buy anything he is allowed.

The typical american Judge is old and out of touch with people in their thirties, they live in a different world than we do. Read Ross's letter pleading with the judge for mercy, it's chock full of desperate bullshit appealing to religion.

Half the reason we still have a failed war on (people) drugs going on is because at least 77% of americans have had their critical thinking skills short-circuited by religious brainwashing. Bronze age ethics doesn't work so well in the 21st century, but the morals of gods are immune to reason.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-nearly-8-in-10-americans-believe-in-angels/

These people are judges and jurors, deciding the fates of fellow americans every day, and nearly four out of five of them believe in fucking angels. I'll let that sink in.
These people are dangerously stupid and deadly ignorant, and they are ruining lives. Every day.

What does that have to do with the decision of the court?  That is a whole other topic you just introduced for some odd reason that I have yet to figure out.

Find me a court of law in the USA where they don't have a bible. It's symbolic of religion's influence on our justice system, that same blind misguided morality that once burned "witches" alive is now putting this man into a dungeon for the rest of his life.

For doing her job?  Wishing ill will on someone you know nothing about other than her name is so mature.  She has a job and she did it.  It isn't an easy one and I am sure some of the decisions she has to make sticks with her in a negative way for years.

What the heck did my post have to do with the bible?  lol  ADD much? 

I hope and pray that the Judge has something worse than a rough bowel moment. I hope she gets meningitis.

It's clear from a brief look at his reported demeanor at the sentencing that he was not disputing the charges. If he was ordering killings as described in the case, that alone and quite apart from the whole Silk Road thing would be extremely serious and possibly warrant the death penalty in my book. (But probably not, as I believe his murder attempts were too abstract in his own mind. So I'd instead focus on him paying back society instead as noted below.)

On the flip side, the war on drugs is an obvious failure and his marketing efforts in that arena, while a flagrant violation of existing law, only brought together willing buyers and sellers who knew the risks. If I were the judge I'd have given him a slap on the hand on those points and sent a shot across the bow of legislatures to stop pushing for a police state.

Incidentally, the biblical position on justice is not (as many assume) "throw them in the slammer and throw away the key." Only pagans in Bible imprisoned people (Joseph/Egyptians, Peter and Paul/Romans, Samson/Philistines etc.), and God never commanded or advised imprisonment as a means of justice. The biblical principle is one of Restitution and Repentance - that one should make recompense for the harm done by one's actions, and cultivate repentance for the damage done. Given that families were shown today blaming Silk Road for providing drugs that led to the death of their family members, I think forcing Ross to confront those families and make personal restitution to them would be the start of real justice.

They need their slushie machines. It's pennies from heaven, right?

Perhaps in more than one way.

They didn't get that much for the coin. I bet they didn't even recover the cost of the international investigation. If they did make money on it they will spend that now. The cost of his incarceration will hit future generations.

Is this in the same court of law where everybody swears on a book of fiction endorsed as a source of truth? Why would anyone take such an institution seriously? The bible is a bad joke, just like Amerikkkan Justice and american lawmaking.

If he had been a congressman or other member of the Old Boys Club, the bribe to avoid this consequence would have cost 1/100th that 184 mil. We need some folks like this guy, dispensing justice to the powerful equally as they do to the meek.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3095742/SPOILER-ALERT-Winter-finally-comes-Game-Thrones-Cersei-Lannister-gets-deserves-Gift.html

According to law, it is.  I guess it is a matter of opinion.  Some would rather have life and some would rather be dead.

I guess that makes him a net contributor!

Nothing personal but DPR did this "Eyes Wide Open"

Is it excessive? maybe so but he rolled the dice and lost.

He knew the risk.



~BCX~

Yeah and they auctioned it off or most of it already, haven't they?  So housing him for $1.5 million or even $5 million is a real bargain compared to how much money he made them.