HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Why President Trump Should Free Ross Ulbricht

Views:975
@ReasonVids

The Silk Road’s creator has a lot to teach drug prohibitionists.

------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?sub...
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magaz...
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
----------------

Will Donald Trump give clemency to Ross Ulbricht, who is serving two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole for founding and operating the black market e-commerce platform called Silk Road? He's considering it, according to two anonymous sources who spoke with The Daily Beast.

The case for commuting Ulbricht's sentence is simple: He never directly harmed anyone, and his sentence was wildly disproportionate to the severity of the crimes for which he was convicted.

"A life sentence without parole is shockingly extreme," actor and director Alex Winter told Reason in an August 2015 interview about his documentary on the Ublricht case, Deep Web. "The bluntness by which the judge communicated why she was pronouncing this sentence took everyone by surprise."

At that fateful hearing in 2015, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest told the courtroom that she had decided to go well beyond the mandatory minimum of 10 years because Ulbricht had taken a philosophical stand against drug prohibition.   

The Silk Road's creator thought that he "was better than the laws of this country … This is deeply troubling, terribly misguided, and very dangerous," she said in her opinion. The Silk Road's "stated purpose," she said, "was to be beyond the law."

Judge Forrest was exactly right, which is why prohibitionists should have tried to learn something from Ulbricht's creation.

Ulbricht set out to disrupt the drug war by moving sales to an online marketplace impervious to government interference, where consenting adults could buy and sell anything of their choosing.  

He aimed "to abolish the use of coercion and aggression amongst mankind," according to his LinkedIn profile, and create "an economic simulation to give people a first-hand experience of what it would be like to live in a world without the systemic use of force."

"Ulbricht's arguments are incredibly relatable," Vanity Fair's Nick Bilton told Reason in a 2017 interview about his book, American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road. "When it comes to legalizing cannabis and mushrooms I completely agree with Ross and his arguments … Where I started to have a really hard time is with the selling of things like heroin and fentanyl."

A 2013 study in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that users flocked to the Silk Road out of concern "for street drug quality and personal safety" and that "vendor selection appeared to be based on trust, speed of transaction, stealth modes and quality of product."

Several users on the site's forums regularly answered questions about drug safety and what to do in the case of an overdose. 

Ulbricht's critics often point to a series of contract killings that he allegedly ordered with the intention of stopping blackmailers who were threatening to bring him down. But those allegations remain unproven, the alleged murders were never carried out, and the government never charged him on those counts. 

"It's extremely irresponsible to fall on one side or the other regarding allegations of murder that have not been charged, much less proven," says Alex Winter.

And perhaps the Silk Road's most enduring legacy is bootstrapping bitcoin, as New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper explained in 2015.

"Silk Road proved that bitcoin worked," Popper said at that year's Consensus conference. "It proved that you could actually send real value across the world."

Freeing Ross Ulbricht would be the appropriate way to cap off a year in which American voters made it loud and clear that they're ready to close the book on the drug war.

Prior to his sentencing, Ross Ulbricht wrote a letter to the judge pleading for mercy. 

"I've had my youth, and I know you must take away my middle years, but please leave me my old age … I certainly won't be the rebellious risk-taker I was when I created Silk Road. In fact, I'll be an old man." 

Ross Ulbricht turned 36 this year. Let's hope he's still a rebel and, soon enough, once again, a free man. 

Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Graphics by Lex Villena.

Music: "Thoughts," by ANBR licensed by Artlist.

Photos: ID 32821222© Iulius Costache| Dreamstime.com, ID 156631077©; Motortion| Dreamstime.com; Picture alliance / Tobias Hase/Newscom; Sthanlee Mirador/Sipa USA/Newscom.

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
    Thumbnail for Are These Vulgarity-Spouting Birds a Threat to Democracy?3:55
    Are These Vulgarity-Spouting Birds a Threat to Democracy?
    ReasonVids
    1042 views
    Thumbnail for Three Flushes for American Capitalism!1:59
    Three Flushes for American Capitalism!
    ReasonVids
    914 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Big Takeaways From Obamacare Decision2:14
    3 Big Takeaways From Obamacare Decision
    ReasonVids
    1018 views
    Thumbnail for @graydragon steps into his basement and cracks a cold one 0:18
    @graydragon steps into his basement and cracks a cold one
    bestofvoatxyz
    524 views
    Thumbnail for ‘Our Children Do Not Belong to the Government’7:28
    ‘Our Children Do Not Belong to the Government’
    ReasonVids
    901 views
    Thumbnail for Will The Feds Ban Your Pain Meds?5:13
    Will The Feds Ban Your Pain Meds?
    ReasonVids
    839 views
    Thumbnail for The Case for Impeaching Trump5:09
    The Case for Impeaching Trump
    ReasonVids
    915 views
    Thumbnail for Indians turn Sydney into a shithole5:00
    Indians turn Sydney into a shithole
    bestofupgoat
    456 views
    Thumbnail for Filthy jews brag about Muslim invasion of Europe4:28
    Filthy jews brag about Muslim invasion of Europe
    AOUisgay
    556 views
    Thumbnail for John Stagliano is Free on Obscenity Rap! Feds Bungle Case, Exclusive Q&A1:28
    John Stagliano is Free on Obscenity Rap! Feds Bungle Case, Exclusive Q&A
    ReasonVids
    896 views
    Thumbnail for Aaj सहेली ka favourite banaya | Sonal Ki Rasoi1:00
    Aaj सहेली ka favourite banaya | Sonal Ki Rasoi
    invidious
    260 views
    Thumbnail for cozy weekend vlog!🧁🧸baking, smoothies, sleep :) | toomuchzozo16:49
    cozy weekend vlog!🧁🧸baking, smoothies, sleep :) | toomuchzozo
    invidious
    30 views
    Thumbnail for George Hotz: Fully Self-Driving Cars Are a 'Scam' and Silicon Valley 'Needs To Die'22:55
    George Hotz: Fully Self-Driving Cars Are a 'Scam' and Silicon Valley 'Needs To Die'
    ReasonVids
    1014 views
    Thumbnail for What if Joe Biden Were a Libertarian? We Fixed His Acceptance Speech.0:53
    What if Joe Biden Were a Libertarian? We Fixed His Acceptance Speech.
    ReasonVids
    963 views
    Thumbnail for Montana Families Are Fighting for School Choice3:03
    Montana Families Are Fighting for School Choice
    ReasonVids
    942 views
    Thumbnail for CPAC 2012: Occupy Protesters & Anti-gay Activists4:44
    CPAC 2012: Occupy Protesters & Anti-gay Activists
    ReasonVids
    872 views
    Thumbnail for Ain't no way we got young sheldon mogging - skibidi1:00
    Ain't no way we got young sheldon mogging - skibidi
    x0x7
    239 views
    Thumbnail for Trump CRUSHES Biden on Ukraine!!! | Dr. Steve Turley10:26
    Trump CRUSHES Biden on Ukraine!!! | Dr. Steve Turley
    invidious
    370 views
    Thumbnail for The Swing Vote: Why Independents Will Decide the 2012 Election6:41
    The Swing Vote: Why Independents Will Decide the 2012 Election
    ReasonVids
    940 views
    Thumbnail for Taking matters into their own hands0:52
    Taking matters into their own hands
    bestofupgoat
    111 views
    Thumbnail for Violent Protests in 1968 Helped Elect Richard Nixon. Will Today's Protests Help Trump?51:12
    Violent Protests in 1968 Helped Elect Richard Nixon. Will Today's Protests Help Trump?
    ReasonVids
    1005 views
    Thumbnail for The Next Pandemic Will Be Caused by the National Debt. It Will Crater the Economy.6:58
    The Next Pandemic Will Be Caused by the National Debt. It Will Crater the Economy.
    ReasonVids
    918 views
    Thumbnail for Red Bull Is Disgusting. And It Perfectly Captures Why Capitalism Is So Great.34:48
    Red Bull Is Disgusting. And It Perfectly Captures Why Capitalism Is So Great.
    ReasonVids
    916 views
    Thumbnail for Overwatch 2 x Gundam Wing | Gameplay Trailer Premieres Apr 28 | PlayOverwatch1:25
    Overwatch 2 x Gundam Wing | Gameplay Trailer Premieres Apr 28 | PlayOverwatch
    invidious
    59 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle