What is your thoughts on what he was and was not convicted for officially?
Hi Barry, thanks for the reply.
I did mention the sentence was double life sentence + 40 years and that he's served 11 years 3 months thus far.
Again, I think he should be free. A double life sentence is overly harsh. However, I do think he broke laws. Here's why:
- The Silk Road facilitated drug sales.
Unfortunately, that's considered illegal in the US and most countries in the world, including Iceland where it looks like the main server(s) were located.
If he and/or the servers were located in a country where that was not illegal, then I would agree with you.
I might even agree with you *if* the website didn't actually have a website menu category specifically called "Drugs" and sub-categories for "Opioids" and the like.
If there were no categories for drugs and users just listed the stuff under "Other", I would likely agree with you 100% that he didn't commit a crime but going out of your way to add those menu categories means you understood what you were doing. I think that's where he made the mistake, it's hard to argue against it.
Having said that, I think drugs should not be illegal. I think adults should make their own choices. I think it's immoral for the government to tell adults what they can or cannot do with their bodies.
It seems like he's a good person that made a mistake and I think he's definitely more than paid the price and should be free.
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I'm glad a conversation can be had about it. This case is difficult because it's emotional and triggering for a lot of people. It's interesting to see peoples replies and reactions to this topic.
Discussion
Without being a lawyer and with the limited info I have, I think he should have not served any time or the prison sentence should have been very low.
It's a difficult case because he didn't do anything directly and it's all non-violent.
For each charge:
- Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Narcotics by Means of the Internet - I think it's hard to argue against this given the website had menu categories specifically for different types of drugs.
– Continuing Criminal Enterprise - It's hard for me to consider the Silk Road a criminal enterprise since it's hard to prove intent BUT lawyers can easily argue this case.
– Conspiracy to Aid and Abet Computer Hacking - If no proof computers were hacked by Ross, this is an easy win for Ross.
– Conspiracy to Traffic in Fraudulent IDs - Similar to first point above, if the site had menu categories for fake id's, it's hard to argue against it. I don't know if they did though.
– Conspiracy to Launder Money - If it's purely because users transacted in Bitcoin, I'd say this is the weakest of all charges because that was just their accepted currency.
I'm not a lawyer and it's just my opinion on what I read and the limited amount I've seen.
Again, the biggest mistake made was having menu categories and language on the website specifically mentioning drugs and possibly other items some countries find illegal. If the site just had an "Other" section and users posted there, I think it would have been much harder convict him.
I'm hoping he gets released any moment. Have you heard anything yet?
Not yet.
Its a simplification, but he is basically a martyr for bitcoin and a hero to anarchists and libertarians who believe government should have less power and rules should not be applied/enforced in an uneven manner.
A simple analogy, if a man targeted and killed your entire family and you confronted and injured him, is it really fair given that HIS family is the government, that you be punished to the highest degree while he gets to continue targeting and killing other families?
The government conspired against one man, they entrapped him, their agents took advantage and profited personally from his platform.
I don't believe this was about justice, I believe it was sending a message about who is boss.
Another analogy, you are hungry, a man named Robinhood steals from the rich to give to the poor. You survive another day.
The police find and capture this man. More people become homeless, the homeless are dying all around you, Robinhood is plastered all over the walls to scare anyone else from ever attempting this again.
No one does anything about the growing homeless, but immediate action was taken when the privileged were slightly inconvenienced at the benefit of the poor. And of course, it isn't like rich aren't stealing from the poor.
I know these are analogies and not proofs or facts, but some of the facts are not framed neutrally.
"Facilitated drug trade", or "opened a market for alternative medications that were originally outlawed to allow racists to target a minority group more effectively"?
We seem to live by arbitrary truths like "breaking the law is bad", and although it is generally true, it is an absolute statement that leaves no room for context.
I don't believe there were any correlations between drug related deaths and assaults, and the silk road being operational for example.