JASKN Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) http://www.wired.com/2015/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-sentenced-life-prison/ The focus of this trial seemed to be mostly about the drug trades, and from the sound of it that was the bulk of Ulbricht's "Silk Road" site traffic. But, Ulbricht wasn't just opportunistically taking advantage of international drug laws, he was also idealistic, with apparent leanings toward anarchism. Was a life sentence without parole justified? Based on existing law, I think the answer is obviously "yes." But assume drugs were legal, and then even one kill-for-hire transaction took place on the Silk Road -- would that constitute a life sentence for the site creator, or even any conviction at all? Should Ulbricht have been tried in part (and more harshly) for his anarchist ideals? I'd say he was too old to pass for "youthful ignorance." Edited May 31, 2015 by JASKN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dream_weaver Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) Edited May 31, 2015 by dream_weaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JASKN Posted May 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 Laws drafted to uphold individual rights and protect individuals from initiation of force by others differ substantially from laws deigned to protect the individual from himself. The judge was upset and wanted to "make an example," (which is unjust in itself) because Ulbricht was against the laws on principle. Given that the laws weren't just, he would fall in with the debate about Edward Snowden, too. But framed as you have by looking at laws protecting against force versus those protecting against who knows what, it makes it easier to consider if his ideals should carry weight in his conviction. If he'd, say, been a terrorist who tried to cripple the CIA, I guess it wouldn't even matter what were his ideals, because judging his actions morally wouldn't be debatable, and a conviction wouldn't be a controversy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dream_weaver Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 In her statement preceding Ulbricht Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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