4 ms·

Isn't this trial the sort of thing that "discourages criminal activity"? There were a lot of people who thought they could violate federal law under the anonymi

Isn't this trial the sort of thing that "discourages criminal activity"? There were a lot of people who thought they could violate federal law under the anonymity of Tor, and now a lot of would-be perpetrators are aware that federal investigators do have the resources to find you. They're definitely making an example of DPR, and I don't have a problem with that. Money laundering? Drug trafficking? Hiring hit men? If a New Jersey mobster had faced these charges for meatspace crimes, he'd certainly be spending the rest of his life in jail. (We can have a conversation about whether consenting adults should be able to purchase and use drugs, but there's no doubt he intentionally and repeatedly violated many existing federal laws.)

jMyles 12y ago
> Money laundering? Drug trafficking? Hiring hit men? One of these things is not like the others.
jqm 12y ago
Na, the Jersey tough guy would probably just rat out some accomplices and soon be living under an assumed identity in Arizona. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano Unlike DPR, this guy had a lifetime of criminal history dating back to childhood and actually did personally commit a number of murders.
- genericuser 12y ago
  Yes, and if there were a person above DPR he was willing to rat out I am confident they would let him do the same.
WalterBright 12y ago
The justice system should be about justice, not making an example, or sending a message, or those other things.
- eastbayjake 12y ago
  Let me rephrase that: the goal of the justice system here is to punish someone who violated some serious federal laws, but the media attention around the case has the side-effect of deterring others from believing Tor can help you commit crimes with impunity. It seems just that DPR is being treated like any mobster or gangster who laundered money earned through illegal activity.
- aidenn0 12y ago
  I think people disagree with that. At least some of the point for punishing people for crimes is to serve as a deterrent.
TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
>Money laundering? Drug trafficking? Hiring hit men? Best left to the professionals: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-...

jMyles 12y ago

> Money laundering? Drug trafficking? Hiring hit men? One of these things is not like the others.

jqm 12y ago

Na, the Jersey tough guy would probably just rat out some accomplices and soon be living under an assumed identity in Arizona. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Gravano Unlike DPR, this guy had a lifetime of criminal history dating back to childhood and actually did personally commit a number of murders.

genericuser 12y ago
Yes, and if there were a person above DPR he was willing to rat out I am confident they would let him do the same.

WalterBright 12y ago

The justice system should be about justice, not making an example, or sending a message, or those other things.

eastbayjake 12y ago
Let me rephrase that: the goal of the justice system here is to punish someone who violated some serious federal laws, but the media attention around the case has the side-effect of deterring others from believing Tor can help you commit crimes with impunity. It seems just that DPR is being treated like any mobster or gangster who laundered money earned through illegal activity.
aidenn0 12y ago
I think people disagree with that. At least some of the point for punishing people for crimes is to serve as a deterrent.

TheOtherHobbes 12y ago

>Money laundering? Drug trafficking? Hiring hit men? Best left to the professionals: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-...