According to Cointelegraph: Ross Ulbricht, founder of the notorious online black market Silk Road, has completed 10 years of his double life sentence given by the United States authorities in 2013. Ulbricht, known online as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” spearheaded the first modern darknet market, which operated using Bitcoin as its primary payment system.
On October 2, he lamented on social media about his decade-long confinement within "concrete walls and locked doors," expressing fear about spending the remainder of his life in prison. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had seized his laptop on October 1, 2023.
Ulbricht was convicted in the U.S. federal court in 2015 for charges related to running Silk Road. Without the possibility of parole, he was handed two life sentences plus an additional forty years.
According to court documents, between February 2011 and July 2013, Silk Road facilitated sales totalling 9,519,664 Bitcoins, receiving a commission of 600,000 Bitcoins. This accumulated to approximately $1.2 billion in sales and around $80 million in commissions when the documents were published.
Ulbricht's case has attracted extensive attention, with many arguing for leniency. An online campaign fighting for justice for Ulbricht claims the backing of over 250 organizations and signatures from half a million people on a virtual petition for his release. His case has also garnered significant support within the crypto community.
Despite widespread support for Ulbricht, some voices argue against clemency. Allegations of Ulbricht hiring hitmen to murder multiple individuals, although uncharged, were brought up alongside the cases of sex trafficking and drug trade facilitated via Silk Road.
Further controversy lies in the comparison of Ulbricht's sentence to others connected with Silk Road, whose average sentence was around six years. The top drug dealer on the site was only sentenced to seven years and is currently free, and creators of Silk Road 2.0 have served no or up to 6.5 years and are now all free.
