Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht arrested, tried, convicted

[devil21]

There's also that tricky little thing about allegedly hiring hitmen to kill six people.

Oh, well that changes everything.

He's accused of very bad things by the same people seeking to limit his defense, therefore he isn't entitled to a proper defense?

 

[specsaregood]

There's also that tricky little thing about allegedly hiring hitmen to kill six people.

Is he charged with that? And if so, are you suggesting the prosecution is worried about jury nullification because the jury might think hiring those hitmen was justified?

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

They are making sure the "jury" is kept in the dark so none of them realize the RIGHT they have to come back with any damn verdict they feel like...

 

[Wolfgang Bohringer]

Jury Nullification Promotion in NYC Before, During and After Ross Ulbricht's Trial

Posted by George Donnelly on reddit:

We're a couple of long-time jury rights activists and we're running a month-long phone kiosk and pamphleting campaign in Lower Manhattan next week to encourage jurors to vote not guilty in victimless crimes cases.
These efforts take place simultaneously with Ross Ulbricht's (the accused DPR) trial. The phone kiosks surround the courthouse where his trial takes place.
We're running a crowdfunding campaign and would like your support. I'll answer any questions, too. Thanks.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/end-the-prosecution-of-victimless-crimes-in-nyc/x/94256

We've got an educational video here: http://youtu.be/UCJqbm151Es

http://www.reddit.com/r/Anarcho_Cap...e_promoting_jury_nullification_in_nyc_before/

http://www.reddit.com/r/Libertarian/comments/2q6roc/were_promoting_jury_nullification_in_nyc_before/

 

[georgedonnelly]

Thanks for posting this.

 

[Indy Vidual]

This could be the most important thread ever posted at RPF, if you want it to be:
That's right, you need to help change the world, right now....
Oh wait, never mind, he is going to jail for life.

 

[georgedonnelly]

Your comment seems to contradict the quote in your signature.

In any case, this is about informing hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers about jury nullification, not about saving Ross Ulbricht.

 

[georgedonnelly]

We've got the phone kiosk ads up after raising more than $4,000, most of it within 48 hours of launching. Pics are available at: http://juryrightsproject.com/nyc-jury-rights-ads/

 

[matt_]

Silk Road trial: Ross Ulbricht case could rewrite internet law

The first major issue, is that the FBI obtained evidence by hacking into a web server without a warrant.

Firstly, questions surround how the FBI and Department of Homeland Security found Silk Road's servers, which are alleged to have been located in Iceland. Accused of being the property of Ulbricht, an American citizen, a warrant would normally be required to search the contents of these servers, but the prosecution says this was unnecessary because they were located abroad.

Lyn Ulbricht continues: "We are asking the prosecution 'how did you find the server?' and they're not saying. We have to know how they found the server in order to see if Ross' Fourth Amendment rights have been violated."

The second key issue is the concept of "transferred intent." The prosecution is accusing the alleged website operator for the crimes of its users. Even if the website operator is unaware of illegal actions of the users, the operator is still responsible.

...Ulbricht's defence will be keen to explore is that of transferred intent - in this case, how the prosecution claim the owner or administrator of a website is legally responsible for the actions of - and is in conspiracy with - its users. In the case of Silk Road, this means the owner would be responsible if the site's users were found to be dealing drugs, fake ID and other illegal goods, even if the site owner claims to be unaware of the transactions.

"If Ross were convicted he'd be the first website host ever to be convicted for the actions of the users of the site," Ulbricht said

Full article: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/silk-road-trial-ross-ulbricht-case-could-rewrite-internet-law-1483180

 

[Suzanimal]

Silk Road website founder Ross Ulbricht found guilty on all counts

Silk Road website founder Ross Ulbricht found guilty on all counts

A jury has ruled Ross Ulbricht, the 30-year-old who founded the black market website Silk Road, guilty on all counts.

The FBI arrested Ulbricht in a sting operation in October 2013 accusing him of being the criminal mastermind running Silk Road where items such as narcotics, fake IDs and other illegal goods were sold using Bitcoin for payment.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, charged Ulbricht with seven counts including money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking among other things.

During the trial the prosecution said that Ulbricht was "Dread Pirate Roberts," which was the alias for Silk Road's operator, and said that he received a portion of every transaction that occurred on the black market website. By the time Silk Road was shut down by the feds in 2013, it had generated almost $213.9 million in sales and $13.2 million in commissions, prosecutors said.

Ulbricht conceded that he was indeed the creator of Silk Road, but his defense attorney Joshua Dratel argued that Ulbricht intended for the site to be a "freewheeling, free market site" where almost anything could be sold, barring a few harmful items like certain weapons.

However, Ulbricht's defense said that just a few months after creating the marketplace he handed over control to others using the platform. But was lured back right before the FBI busted the operation, thus making Ulbricht the "fall guy," Dratel said.

Prosecutors, however, argued that there was no evidence that Ulbricht walked away from the black market as he claimed.

After a three-week trial, the jury began deliberations on Wednesday and within just a few hours found Ulbricht guilty.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102397735#.

 

[Warlord]

Silk Road operator convicted on all counts

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The suspected operator of the underground website Silk Road was convicted on Wednesday on narcotics and other criminal charges for his role in orchestrating a scheme that enabled around $200 million of anonymous online drug sales using bitcoins.

Ross Ulbricht, 30, was convicted by a federal jury in Manhattan on all seven counts he faced following a closely watched four-week trial that spilled out of U.S. investigations of the use of the bitcoin digital currency for drug trafficking and other crimes.
The jury of six men and six women needed a little over three hours to deliberate before finding Ulbricht guilty of charges that included drug trafficking and conspiracies to commit money laundering and computer hacking.

Ulbricht faces up to life in prison. He has attracted many supporters to his cause, including some who say the government's case is an attack on Internet freedom.

After the verdict was read, Ulbricht turned toward his supporters and raised his hand as he was led from the court. "Ross is a hero," shouted one supporter wearing dreadlocks.
More
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/04/silk-road-convicted_n_6616128.html

 

[kpitcher]

I thought silk road fees alone were over 200 million?

 

[The Gold Standard]

You could knock me over with a feather.

 

[jkob]

I wish I was on that jury

 

[Warlord]

Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht Sentenced to Life in Prison

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-sentenced-life-prison/

 

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht sentenced to life in prison

http://www.cnet.com/news/convicted-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/

Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of online illegal-drug marketplace Silk Road, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The sentencing of the 31-year-old San Francisco man was handed down by US District Court Judge Katherine Forrest in a Manhattan courtroom, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Ulbricht was facing a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In a letter filed to the court earlier this week, Ulbricht pleaded with the judge not to send him away for life.

"As I see it, a life sentence is more similar in nature to a death sentence than it is to a sentence...Both condemn you to die in prison, a life sentence just takes longer," Ulbricht wrote. "I've had my youth, and I know you must take away my middle years, but please leave me my old age.

"Please leave a small light at the end of the tunnel, an excuse to stay healthy, an excuse to dream of better days ahead and a chance to redeem myself in the free world before I meet my maker."

In the end, Forrest rejected Ulbricht's plea.

 

[amy31416]

Jesus Christ. Murderers, pedophiles and rapists get more lenient time after conviction.

 

[puppetmaster]

Jesus Christ. Murderers, pedophiles and rapists get more lenient time after conviction.

don't mess with the government funds.

 

[Occam's Banana]

Jesus Christ. Murderers, pedophiles and rapists get more lenient time after conviction.

Yep. And that's because murders, pedophiliac molestations, and rapes are crimes against persons and not crimes against the State.

The prerogatives of the State are sacrosanct. The rights of persons? Not so much ...

 

[presence]

Yep.

And that's because murders, pedophiliac molestations, and rapes are crimes against persons

and not crimes against the State.

we have a winner folks! step right up and claim your prize!