In sentencing, the judge was also allowed to take into consideration the murder-for-hire allegations, even though they had never been charged at trial. “Until the Supreme Court decides otherwise, judges can and do regularly consider crimes of this type, relevant but not charged,” Richman says.
Ulbricht has never fully acknowledged the damage inflicted by the huge Silk Road drug sales, which included heroin and other opiates, and still shows little remorse for his actions in his public Twitter posts, argues Jared Der-Yeghiayan, former National Security investigator. Agent who infiltrated the Silk Road undercover as part of the case against Ulbricht.
“The thought of him being released doesn’t bother me in the least,” says Der-Yeghiayan, who now works as head of strategic intelligence at cryptocurrency tracking firm Chainalysis. “It bothers me that there is now a perception that he did nothing wrong, that he doesn’t recognize the facts of the case.”
However, given that Ulbricht has already spent 11 years in prison, the question remains whether that crime merits a life sentence. While Ulbricht’s harsh ruling might be valid in a strictly technical sense, says Leeza Garber, a law professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in complicated cases like this one, the legal issues cannot be neatly isolated from the ethical and policies.
“Just because something is reasonable doesn’t mean it’s right,” Garber says. “We have very complex and contradictory views on the war on drugs and the use of prisons in this country. Mix that with the idea that this crime occurred in part in cyberspace and it becomes extremely confusing. It is difficult to take into account this confluence of issues.”
Some prison reform advocates, several of whom support Ulbricht’s clemency petition, believe sentencing rules need to be changed. They think the emphasis should be on rehabilitation rather than retribution, and that probation should be reintroduced into the federal criminal system. They hope Ulbricht’s release can act as a catalyst.
“Ross has served more than enough time. He has been a model prisoner. He is a first-time non-violent offender. He poses no risk to the safety of the community,” says Alice Johnson, executive director of the justice reform foundation Taking Action For Good, who spent two decades in prison for drug trafficking before Trump commuted her life sentence. in 2018. “I believe the Ross case will pave the way for many others who have unfairly received these draconian sentences to return home.”