AFTER MORE THAN five years, the saga of the Dread Pirate Roberts has ended, and the founder of the Silk Road has lost his last chance of escaping a lifetime in prison.
On Wednesday, a Second Circuit appellate court rejected the appeal of Ross Ulbricht, who two years ago was sentenced to life in prison without parole for creating and running the Silk Road, a massive dark web drug market. Ulbricht, who used the Dread Pirate Roberts pseudonym, had persistently fought his conviction for crimes including drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as his unexpectedly harsh life sentence. He and his lawyers pointed to what they'd described as illegal searches in the investigation, the involvement of at least two federal agents now proven to be corrupt, and Ulbricht's draconian punishment for what they described as non-violent crimes.
The three-judge appellate panel nonetheless affirmed the decision of the lower court—albeit with notes of muted criticism of American drug laws.
https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-silk-roads-dark-web-dream-is-dead/
"Reasonable people may and do disagree about the social utility of harsh sentences for the distribution of controlled substances, or even of criminal prohibition of their sale and use at all," the appellate court's opinion reads. "It is very possible that, at some future point, we will come to regard these policies as tragic mistakes and adopt less punitive and more effective methods of reducing the incidence and costs of drug use."
"At this point in our history, however, the democratically-elected representatives of the people have opted for a policy of prohibition, backed by severe punishment," the judges write.
Ulbricht's defense attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
JFL at the """""""""""""""""""""""""""justice"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" system
free him
On Wednesday, a Second Circuit appellate court rejected the appeal of Ross Ulbricht, who two years ago was sentenced to life in prison without parole for creating and running the Silk Road, a massive dark web drug market. Ulbricht, who used the Dread Pirate Roberts pseudonym, had persistently fought his conviction for crimes including drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as his unexpectedly harsh life sentence. He and his lawyers pointed to what they'd described as illegal searches in the investigation, the involvement of at least two federal agents now proven to be corrupt, and Ulbricht's draconian punishment for what they described as non-violent crimes.
The three-judge appellate panel nonetheless affirmed the decision of the lower court—albeit with notes of muted criticism of American drug laws.
https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-silk-roads-dark-web-dream-is-dead/
"Reasonable people may and do disagree about the social utility of harsh sentences for the distribution of controlled substances, or even of criminal prohibition of their sale and use at all," the appellate court's opinion reads. "It is very possible that, at some future point, we will come to regard these policies as tragic mistakes and adopt less punitive and more effective methods of reducing the incidence and costs of drug use."
"At this point in our history, however, the democratically-elected representatives of the people have opted for a policy of prohibition, backed by severe punishment," the judges write.
Ulbricht's defense attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
JFL at the """""""""""""""""""""""""""justice"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" system
free him
damn it worked @Near unbanned
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