>>>>>>http://www.wsj.com/articles/silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-1432929957
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Seems a bit excessive to me...
>>>>>
>>>>>If these transcripts are indeed true, I can't say I have much sympathy...
>>>>>http://www.wired.com/2015/02/read-transcript-silk-roads-boss-ordering-5-assassinations/
>>>>>
>>>>>I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one instance where I agree with the current DOJ.
>>>>
>>>>I don't see the sentence as excessive at all. This guy greased the wheels for the destruction of a lot of lives.
>>>
>>>I'm surprised that as computer programmers you guys feel this way. Do you two think that the gun manufactures should be getting life sentences? It seems sort of like the same logic doesn't it? What if one of us was to write some software for some of these new weed companies in WA or CO? We going to end up with a life sentence for doing that? How many lives did this guy SAVE because people could get their dope from a few clicks of the mouse instead of dealing with armed drug dealers? What about the 3 dirty cops in this case??? ya know they stole $80 million worth of bitcoins from him too. Yes it's sad when someone dies of drug overdose - but the blame for that belongs to the person taking the drugs. If you want to blame the guy selling them I suppose that is an easy-out for people, but this guy didn't sell them, someone ELSE sold them - he merely made a website where that could happen. What if a criminal is keeping track of his finances with Quicken?? You think the authors of it should get a life sentence too? Perhaps you guys could explain your position to me - I must be missing something.
>>
>>Well, Quicken isn't written specifically to thwart law enforcement or to stay hidden from prying eyes who aren't in on the secret. This was written to be used for illegal purposes. Can't really say the same about Quicken. I also doubt very much that armed drug dealers refrained from using the site to get their product to sell. Why would they?
>
>But if the transaction is done online then there is no chance of violence happening like there is meeting someone in person - right?

I'd have to say you missed my point. It's easier for the armed thugs to get the drugs that they then take to the streets where they use their arms and viciousness to wonderful effect. In my mind, deliberately making it easier easier for vicious drug runners to ply their trade on the streets is not acceptable and he should be locked up for it. It's called aiding and abetting; only in his case it goes further than just aiding and abetting.

> >No. He aided and abetted those same armed drug dealers. This isn't some innocently written software that got out of hand when used by other people for illegal purposes completely without his knowledge. The comparison to Quicken really falls apart when you ask how many use Quicken for legal operations vs how many used the Silk Road that way. Silk road was simply not designed as legal use software.
>>
>>Sure, you can't always control how people use your software, but that certainly isn't this scenario. He had full control. He knew exactly what he was doing.
>
>Good point - I guess common sense would prevail here. But by the same token, then why are all the lawmakers in CO and WA not all doing life sentences too? They all conspired to break federal law by coming up with the tax codes for the selling of pot..right? How much money has that generated?

Sorry, I don't see any real logic in equating taxing of legal drug sales and thugs ruining lives on the street. When drugs become legal, violence decreases - same as happened with the prohibition era. What this guy was doing was making things less dangerous for the drug dealers, not for the the people on the street at whom the dealers are pointing their drugs and violence.