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Ross Ulbricht was widely regarded by friends and family as a fundamentally decent and idealistic person—if admittedly naïve about the implications of his action
by pmarreck 2y ago
Ross Ulbricht was widely regarded by friends and family as a fundamentally decent and idealistic person—if admittedly naïve about the implications of his actions. Those who knew him personally describe him as thoughtful, intelligent, and motivated by a vision of a freer and more equitable society. His philosophical motivations were rooted in libertarian ideals, particularly the belief that consenting adults should have the right to make decisions about their own lives, including the substances they consume.
I just learned that he was an Eagle Scout.
Not exactly the résumé of someone getting locked up and the key thrown away.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- GIFtheory 2y agoThis argument is problematic because it implies that a person from a different background who committed the same crimes (e.g., a poor, black, uneducated person without any fancy philosophical ideals) /should/ be locked up and the key thrown away. It doesn’t work that way. The law applies the same to all, and that’s the way I like it.
- BoiledCabbage 2y agoSeriously, that was pretty blatant "he was one of the good guys like me and so the law shouldn't really punish him, not like one of those other people with different value that should be punished to the full extent."
- miningape 2y agoI mean there's a legal concept of motivation. A murder is sentenced very differently if it's premeditated, or not. The idea of looking at someone's motivations to determine their sentencing is critical to our legal system - otherwise important defences like the "Battered Wife Defence" wouldn't work. I think most of us can also see a difference between a poor person stealing some gloves to stay warm in the winter and a rich person stealing those same gloves for the thrill. The only difference here is you don't like the fact that Ulbricht's motivations were more high minded than your average crack pusher (cough CIA cough) - the judge didn't either - in fact he sentenced him harder for it to make an example of him.
- tylergetsay 2y agoThat legal concept isn't a broad idea but rather a specific carve out for very specific crimes.
- pmarreck 2y agoNot at all. My point was actually: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42792552 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42792552
- Aeolun 2y agoI don’t think this is true? Motivation is a large part of sentencing. It’s also very important to determine the chances of recurrence.
- pmarreck 2y agoThe problem is that if the law is arguably unethical or arbitrary, you're going to catch more "good" people in it. My comment was not so much a defense of Ross as it was an accusation against unjust drug law. Imagine a hypothetical law which arrests anyone who trades in red shirts. Someone comes along and doesn't see what the big deal is and decides to trade in these shirts on the black market. Lives are saved because it is impossible to get shot at while paying for red shirts over the Internet instead of in person. Then the dude who ran the red shirt marketplace and seems like an opportunistic idealist gets locked up with the key thrown away. Anyway, it is arguable that the Silk Road saved lives, given that black markets are persistent regardless of legality. https://cybercrimejournal.com/pdf/Lacson%26Jonesvol10issue1IJCC2016.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawH90uZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWaRZEsSYl2iiPUwcwGK-UjptFX8Ej6rx41sgyo-HzPTwksS1868VO0lcg_aem_ZdfDihyfDkwRuV0KxtX5Og https://cybercrimejournal.com/pdf/Lacson%26Jonesvol10issue1I... https://gwern.net/doc/darknet-market/silk-road/1/2013-vanhout.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawH90vtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHU6IAM1nijsm0RzuJYm8rXEbaVlateGXtPGarIQkjlcJFK6mkwJa404ylQ_aem_k2RZVLEMVM9lgU45MtA_mw https://gwern.net/doc/darknet-market/silk-road/1/2013-vanhou...
- krisboyz781 2y ago[dead]
- WrongAssumption 2y agoNo rewrite that from another perspective saying someone was a devout man rooted in Christian ideals. I just learned he was a choir boy. This is why we try not to sentence the way you are suggesting.
- pmarreck 2y agoFirst of all, leniency is usually expected (and this was the exact opposite of leniency) if it is someone's first offense or if they seemed like a good citizen prior. Second of all, people missed my point I guess: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42792552 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42792552 Third of all, the Silk Road saved lives. https://cybercrimejournal.com/pdf/Lacson%26Jonesvol10issue1IJCC2016.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawH90uZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWaRZEsSYl2iiPUwcwGK-UjptFX8Ej6rx41sgyo-HzPTwksS1868VO0lcg_aem_ZdfDihyfDkwRuV0KxtX5Og https://cybercrimejournal.com/pdf/Lacson%26Jonesvol10issue1I... https://gwern.net/doc/darknet-market/silk-road/1/2013-vanhout.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawH90vtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHU6IAM1nijsm0RzuJYm8rXEbaVlateGXtPGarIQkjlcJFK6mkwJa404ylQ_aem_k2RZVLEMVM9lgU45MtA_mw https://gwern.net/doc/darknet-market/silk-road/1/2013-vanhou...
- Peanuts99 2y agoThen why did he run a site which allowed people to order hits on people? If it was just an online drug marketplace, that would have been a different matter.
- pmarreck 2y agoInitially, that was possible. They eventually banned those types of auctions before the site itself got taken down.