Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned the creator of Silk Road, a dark-web marketplace where people sold heroin, cocaine, LSD, and other illicit drugs by using cryptocurrency to keep the transactions anonymous and avoid being caught by law enforcement.
Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned the creator of Silk Road, a dark-web marketplace where people sold heroin, cocaine, LSD, and other illicit drugs by using cryptocurrency to keep the transactions anonymous and avoid being caught by law enforcement.
But it’s the immigrants causing all the nations problems, right? /s
Honestly, this one I can understand. They threw the book at this guy because he showed how privacy technologies can circumvent government control. He got 2 life sentences without possibility of parole for a non-violent crime.
What he did was illegal, but he’s been in prison for 10 years. He’s served his time
Not sure I would agree he served his time. How many people who purchased drugs through his dark web network overdosed. Last time I checked if a drug dealer sells heroin and their customers die they are considered culpable.
This reeks of a two tier justice system like usual. If he had been a minority selling drugs on the street and had several people die from overdoses they would be serving a lot longer than ten years.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/drug-dealer-sentenced-nyc-overdose-deaths/story?id=103736698
He didn’t sell most of the drugs, he just provided a platform that allowed anyone to sell anything anonymously. Drug dealers used it because it was useful to them.
Drug dealers use private messaging apps like Signal as well. Should Signal be held responsible for drug deals facilitated by their app? (I know it’s not a perfect analogy, what he made was more blatant, but it’s an important distinction to make)
Good point, I guess the question becomes did he know that it was being used for this and did not stop it or if the intent was for illegal activity to begin with.
Below is a summary of the trial
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ross-ulbricht-aka-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-life-federal-prison-creating
It is clear he knew what was going on and facilitated these transactions regardless. So this is not like Signal unless Signal has intimate knowledge that criminals were using said service and got a cut of their illegal dealings
It appears the intent was there from the beginning. Furthermore there is no doubt that it was being used illegally as it was operated with the vast majority of content being illegal drugs. This is not an example of someone who got caught up in illegal dealings through no fault of their own.
I think my original statement stands and pardoning him is definitely showing that the two-tired justice system is very real. I strongly disagree that he deserved this pardon and it was clearly political rather than being based on something like merit or reform.