Rolling Stone did a great article for those who are interested to know more. https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/

The evidence was severely tainted by the investigators who helped themselves to the proceeds of the crimes. None of this was permissible in court, the defense barely got a hearing.

The story will come out in full one day and we'll all be shocked!

I think the story has already come out in full.

Read the book American Kingpin Nick Bilton. It's really a fantastic read and very hard to put down.

While I agree that this would be a harsh punishment for operating a website, Ross attempted to have people murdered. While this charge was dropped, it factored heavily into his sentencing. This linked page wants to gloss over that which is extremely disingenuous.

The agent that stole the bitcoins didn't really taint the investigation IMHO, although what he did was obviously wrong, and which is why he is now in jail.

I thought there were two agents that stole bitcoin.

Also, were the murder charges "dropped", I thought they just hadn't been charged yet and I always figured the DA was holding back an attempted murder charge as they can press charges later if the court finds the crime would carry a life sentence they may not have a statute of limitations.

Thanks for the book recommendation, definitely looking into it.

Ross Ulbricht, the developer of Silk Road, is serving a double life sentence plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole. There is no doubt that it was illegal. However, a lot of people think that the sentence is overblown compared to other crimes. Sign the petition if you agree with that.

Certainly seems high when you look at the other white-collar criminals and the damage they can do, and what they receive for it (bankers for instance).

On the flip side, he enabled (hard) drug-dealing on an Internet scale, with all that would entail, and all the damages done to the 'victims', for profit. It's tough to muster sympathy.

Wow, if half of what is listed is true then the internet should be up in arms over this.

Didn't he hire hitmen? Did he get convicted for that charge?

No, he was not convicted of this and there is no evidence to support it. This was, however, used to smear his name in the course of the trial and the judge allowed it even though it was unsubstantiated.

I urge you to look into his story further. His sentencing was very unjust.

Had the same thought, not exactly a saint if one is engaging in murder for hire.

He was never tried for that. He should be given a fair sentence for the website (he had to setup categories, so there's still culpability), and then tried separately for other crimes.

In my opinion the sentence is just and will hopefully deter others.

For creating a website where he didn't himself sell drugs? In my opinion, Silk Road & other websites were much safer ways to obtain drugs due to the reviews and people testing individual sellers.

Mind-blowing that anyone would think double life in prison is a just punishment.

How is it just? Child rapists and murders get less time. Hell if he did hire a hit man (like was claimed but never proven or charged with) they would have gotten less time.

Because of the scale and reach of the operation. The convict profited from his enterprise. Not everyone across our country thinks that dealing hard drugs on a large scale is so innocent. It was a nationwide operation.

But he wasn't dealing hard drugs. He made a website. Should ISPs get two life sentences because they built a network which enabled users to sell drugs online? Should the creators of Reddit or Craigslist get two life sentences because users probably sell drugs using their platforms? He might not be a saint, but he doesn't deserve two life sentences.

Do you think hiring someone to commit murder is less bad than killing someone for money?