Silk Road Operator Ross Ulbricht to Be Sentenced Today - page 4.

bryant.coleman

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Quote from: 311 on May 31, 2015, 09:24:04 AM

Apart from all the evidence he was found with on his computer. He's guilty. End of. The only people who are defending him seem to be blinded by this libertarian whole fuck da bankers thing. I'd have had respect for him if he truly stuck to his libertarian morals but he didn't. The power went to his head and he tried to bump people off because they threatened his empire.

Have you personally seen the evidence retrieved from his laptop? The evidence from his laptop proved that he was the administrator of Silk Road, but nothing more. Only a few cooked up emails / chats are presented as "evidence" for the claim that he attempted to murder some of the Silk Road vendors. I am not blinded by anything. I just refuse to be brainwashed by this whole CIA / FBI BS.

311

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Come original.

Quote from: bryant.coleman on May 31, 2015, 01:28:16 AM

Quote from: jaysabi on May 30, 2015, 10:46:16 PM

That's why the attempted murder charge is important to me. Even if we could all agree that in a "free society" none of his drug dealing and money laundering actions should be illegal, there is nothing that can justify murder.

It is true that he ran a dark net site. But there is no evidence to link him to any of the other charges. They were all framed by the FBI, to make sure that he will never be released in to the "free" society. His real crime was that he had the courage to stand up to the bankers. In the eyes of the FBI, every one of us, who use Bitcoins, represent a threat to them. What happened to Ross can happen to any of us.

Apart from all the evidence he was found with on his computer. He's guilty. End of. The only people who are defending him seem to be blinded by this libertarian whole fuck da bankers thing. I'd have had respect for him if he truly stuck to his libertarian morals but he didn't. The power went to his head and he tried to bump people off because they threatened his empire.

freemind1

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America will always be a country of freedom and justice for everyone. Less for those who do not have millions to pay lawyers or buy judges.

bryant.coleman

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Quote from: jaysabi on May 30, 2015, 10:46:16 PM

That's why the attempted murder charge is important to me. Even if we could all agree that in a "free society" none of his drug dealing and money laundering actions should be illegal, there is nothing that can justify murder.

It is true that he ran a dark net site. But there is no evidence to link him to any of the other charges. They were all framed by the FBI, to make sure that he will never be released in to the "free" society. His real crime was that he had the courage to stand up to the bankers. In the eyes of the FBI, every one of us, who use Bitcoins, represent a threat to them. What happened to Ross can happen to any of us.

TheIrishman

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Is Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road's pirate king, a mobster or a martyr?

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/31/ross-ulbricht-silk-road-jail

<< Who is Ross Ulbricht? A libertarian who championed internet privacy out of deep personal conviction, or a ruthless felon who appreciated that secrecy was integral to the successful operation of his multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise? >>

Crenel84

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Quote from: jaysabi on May 30, 2015, 10:46:16 PM

That's why the attempted murder charge is important to me. Even if we could all agree that in a "free society" none of his drug dealing and money laundering actions should be illegal, there is nothing that can justify murder.

"Even if we could all agree" that "there is nothing that can can justify murder" ("murder" being an unfortunately malleable concept), that's irrelevant. The multiple life sentences he was given have nothing to do with the attempted murder charge. There were seven charges behind this excessive sentencing, none of which are for crimes with direct victims, unlike (attempted) murder. And convicted murderers can do less time, so even if the attempted murder charge was somehow relevant, it still does not justify Ulbricht's sentencing.

Three charges were for crimes related to the "war on drugs" which was a failure from the very moment it was conceived, one is merely "you're a bad guy according to us," one is ridiculous starting with the very title of it (ooooh, computer "hacking"), and two are about government control over citizens (regarding money and identity documentation).

The charges were:

Distribution/Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Narcotics
Distribution/Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Narcotics by Means of the Internet
Conspiracy to Distribute Narcotics
Continuing Criminal Enterprise
Conspiracy to Commit or Aid and Abet Computer Hacking
Conspiracy to Traffic in Fraudulent Identity Documents
Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

See: Reference
Also see: 8th Amendment to the US Constitution

jaysabi

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Quote from: Benjig on May 30, 2015, 03:31:11 PM

Quote from: Rmcdermott927 on May 30, 2015, 12:17:16 AM

Quote from: Vod on May 29, 2015, 09:44:41 PM

Life in prison without parole. He'll never set foot outside of prison again for the rest of his life.

I wonder if this will deter other scammers, or do most people think they will never be caught, like he did?

I'm sorry, I am not up to date on this story. Did he scam people or did he just operate silk road?

Isn't he same thing?

However 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.

That's why the attempted murder charge is important to me. Even if we could all agree that in a "free society" none of his drug dealing and money laundering actions should be illegal, there is nothing that can justify murder.

Benjig

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Quote from: Rmcdermott927 on May 30, 2015, 12:17:16 AM

Quote from: Vod on May 29, 2015, 09:44:41 PM

Life in prison without parole. He'll never set foot outside of prison again for the rest of his life.

I wonder if this will deter other scammers, or do most people think they will never be caught, like he did?

I'm sorry, I am not up to date on this story. Did he scam people or did he just operate silk road?

Isn't he same thing?

However 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.

erikalui

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For drug smuggling, life sentence or death sentence is the basic punishment given but I can see that the accused has an attempted murder charge as well. 14 years or 20 years would be too less then.

I don't know where I read it but there was someone related to bitcoins who was funding this Silk Road project.

Balthazar

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Quote from: bryant.coleman on May 30, 2015, 04:35:11 AM

Quote from: Vod on May 29, 2015, 09:44:41 PM

Life in prison without parole. He'll never set foot outside of prison again for the rest of his life.

Ross Ulbricht just became a martyr in his fight against exploitative bankers.

You know, current cleptocratic regime isn't eternal thing.

solid12345

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Quote from: jmurjeff on May 30, 2015, 12:44:43 PM

I don't think he necessarily was all about money. I don't think he is someone who is all about the rich lifestyle. I think his problem was he was about power. The fact that he tried to have people killed is a bit disturbing because you don't leave a trail to your computer. But maybe that was his problem. He left all the evidence for everyone to find. How can people be so smart and dumb at the same time? I would have been out of the country living my life. But now he is stuck behind bars. Reminds me of the sandlot where the kid says "forever."

It is truly Breaking Bad come to life, he went full Heisenberg and even left everything in his diary like Walt leaving the Whitman/Gus book behind the toilet for Hank to find (another dumb move).

I can imagine Ross sitting at his laptop telling himself I'm not in the drug or the money business I'm in the empire business!

jmurjeff

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Quote from: solid12345 on May 30, 2015, 12:34:47 PM

The excuse I keep hearing from the bleeding hearts is he wasn't "convicted" of the attempted murder charges.

Well Mark Karpeles wasn't convicted of stealing people's Bitcoins either but that doesn't stop him from being sentenced in the court of public opinion.

Occam's Razor suggests regardless of how corrupt the US Justice Dept is, the amount of overwhelming evidence shows Ross DID try to have these people killed, we can go on about how he was an Eagle Scout and loves his mom and all that Hallmark crap but greed is a powerful thing and the millions he made hoarding Bitcoins proves it went beyond just a simple experiment for him but a lust for riches.

He will get convicted on the attempted murder charges in Maryland unless his lawyer can work a miracle. But I don't think that is happening and it is pointless unless he wins on appeal a reduced sentence. Maybe it does have some value in the court of public opinion but if they added another life sentence to his life sentence means nothing imo.

I don't think he necessarily was all about money. I don't think he is someone who is all about the rich lifestyle. I think his problem was he was about power. The fact that he tried to have people killed is a bit disturbing because you don't leave a trail to your computer. But maybe that was his problem. He left all the evidence for everyone to find. How can people be so smart and dumb at the same time? I would have been out of the country living my life. But now he is stuck behind bars. Reminds me of the sandlot where the kid says "forever."

solid12345

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The excuse I keep hearing from the bleeding hearts is he wasn't "convicted" of the attempted murder charges.

Well Mark Karpeles wasn't convicted of stealing people's Bitcoins either but that doesn't stop him from being sentenced in the court of public opinion.

Occam's Razor suggests regardless of how corrupt the US Justice Dept is, the amount of overwhelming evidence shows Ross DID try to have these people killed, we can go on about how he was an Eagle Scout and loves his mom and all that Hallmark crap but greed is a powerful thing and the millions he made hoarding Bitcoins proves it went beyond just a simple experiment for him but a lust for riches.

jaysabi

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Quote from: jmurjeff on May 30, 2015, 12:03:09 PM

Quote from: jaysabi on May 30, 2015, 11:57:13 AM

Quote from: Rmcdermott927 on May 30, 2015, 12:17:16 AM

Quote from: Vod on May 29, 2015, 09:44:41 PM

Life in prison without parole. He'll never set foot outside of prison again for the rest of his life.

I wonder if this will deter other scammers, or do most people think they will never be caught, like he did?

I'm sorry, I am not up to date on this story. Did he scam people or did he just operate silk road?

I don't particularly care about Silk Road as a black market. The money laundering is a larger issue, but even this one I can get past. But the murder for hire charge is where I draw the line. I would like to see him serve an appropriately long prison term for attempted murder. It's not excusable.

Edit: I see now they never ended up charging him with the attempted murder charge.

He still has to face this charge in Maryland. Even if he wins on appeal a reduced sentence, he may get added time for the Maryland charge. He is pretty much going to be stuck behind bars for life.

I thought I had read somewhere that he was charged with attempted murder, so the information in this article wasn't gelling with that. Thanks for reconciling it. It's a serious charge, and one that can't be excused with the community's rush to turn him into a martyr. Pick better heroes, because this guy is not a rallying cry.

jmurjeff

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Quote from: jaysabi on May 30, 2015, 11:57:13 AM

Quote from: Rmcdermott927 on May 30, 2015, 12:17:16 AM

Quote from: Vod on May 29, 2015, 09:44:41 PM

Life in prison without parole. He'll never set foot outside of prison again for the rest of his life.

I wonder if this will deter other scammers, or do most people think they will never be caught, like he did?

I'm sorry, I am not up to date on this story. Did he scam people or did he just operate silk road?

I don't particularly care about Silk Road as a black market. The money laundering is a larger issue, but even this one I can get past. But the murder for hire charge is where I draw the line. I would like to see him serve an appropriately long prison term for attempted murder. It's not excusable.

Edit: I see now they never ended up charging him with the attempted murder charge.

He still has to face this charge in Maryland. Even if he wins on appeal a reduced sentence, he may get added time for the Maryland charge. He is pretty much going to be stuck behind bars for life.

jaysabi

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Quote from: Rmcdermott927 on May 30, 2015, 12:17:16 AM

Quote from: Vod on May 29, 2015, 09:44:41 PM

Life in prison without parole. He'll never set foot outside of prison again for the rest of his life.

I wonder if this will deter other scammers, or do most people think they will never be caught, like he did?

I'm sorry, I am not up to date on this story. Did he scam people or did he just operate silk road?

I don't particularly care about Silk Road as a black market. The money laundering is a larger issue, but even this one I can get past. But the murder for hire charge is where I draw the line. I would like to see him serve an appropriately long prison term for attempted murder. It's not excusable.

Edit: I see now they never ended up charging him with the attempted murder charge.

jmurjeff

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Quote from: BRE on May 30, 2015, 10:48:37 AM

Quote from: erre on May 30, 2015, 05:36:36 AM

Is life imprisonment for drug smuggling normal in the USA?

Seems inhumane to me...

32 countries impose the death penalty for drug smuggling, they are often imprisoned for years on “death row.
Not knowing when their time is up, or whether they will see their families one last time.
Inhumane for Ross ? idk we all have our own opinion about this.

A few of those countries have a quick death row. Humanity can be judged on how a country treats their worst. In terms of his prison sentence it was more of a punitive measure rather than a punishment reserved for him. But now there is precedent so people will know what they are getting themselves into. However, prison sentences and death sentences don't necessarily deter crime. The majority of times if you survive to a certain age you are less likely to commit a crime. He should have gotten the minimum which is not that short. 20 years is a long time. A life sentence is worst than some people who have murdered, raped, or even stole life savings. I argue what he did was no where near as bad as some of the other individuals. Even people who attempted murder have not served as long a sentence.

BRE

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Quote from: erre on May 30, 2015, 05:36:36 AM

Is life imprisonment for drug smuggling normal in the USA?

Seems inhumane to me...

32 countries impose the death penalty for drug smuggling, they are often imprisoned for years on “death row.
Not knowing when their time is up, or whether they will see their families one last time.
Inhumane for Ross ? idk we all have our own opinion about this.

erre

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Is life imprisonment for drug smuggling normal in the USA?

Seems inhumane to me...

Aggressor66

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I read recently that a recidivism study showed that 16 years of prison is enough to prevent recidivism.
More than 16 years of prison makes no difference in the outcome.
Life without parole is not only inhumane, but also unnecessary.

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