Ross Ulbricht Case Overview
Ross Ulbricht is a peaceful first-time offender serving a double life sentence plus 40 years without parole for all non-violent charges associated with creating the Silk Road e-commerce website. He was a 26-year-old idealistic libertarian—passionate about free markets and privacy—when he made the site. Ross was not prosecuted for causing harm or bodily injury and no victim was named at trial. This is a sentence that shocks the conscience.
In prison since 2013, Ross Ulbricht has both publicly and privately expressed heartfelt remorse for creating the Silk Road website and he accepts responsibility for the mistakes he made. Now much wiser and more mature, Ross has vowed that, should he be released, he would never come close to breaking the law again.
Silk Road was an online anonymous marketplace that maintained user privacy and used Bitcoin as the means of exchange. Based on the libertarian non-aggression principle, it allowed people to voluntarily buy and sell what they chose as long as no third party was harmed. Consequently, the site prohibited child pornography, violent services, stolen property, and generally anything used to “harm or defraud” others. Although some legal items were also sold, many vendors realized that site’s anonymity made it an attractive platform for selling many different types of illegal drugs (the most common transactions were for personal-use amounts of marijuana, as shown by a Carnegie Mellon University study).
Ross was not tried for selling drugs or illegal items himself, nor did he launder money or hack computers, but was held responsible for what others listed on Silk Road.
“At 26, I made an e-commerce website called Silk Road that allowed people to buy and sell anonymously online. I thought at the time that I was promoting my ideals, but I have since learned what a terrible mistake I made. It was supposed to be a place where anyone could buy or sell whatever they chose so long as they weren’t hurting someone else. […] Over countless hours, I have searched my soul and examined the misguided decisions I made when I was younger. I have dug deep and made a sincere effort to not just change what I do, but who I am. I am no longer the type of man who could break the law and let down so many.”
– Ross Ulbricht in letter to the President [PDF]
Ross was smeared with unprosecuted, false allegations of planning murder-for-hire that never occurred, were never proven, never ruled on by a jury, and were ultimately dismissed with prejudice. Ross was never tried for these allegations. His case was also tainted by corrupt federal agents (later sent to prison).
All the other Silk Road defendants received sentences of six years on average. That includes the actual drug sellers, the men who helped run Silk Road, and the men who built and ran Silk Road 2.0, a larger replica. All but one are free today.
In 2018, Ross and his legal team at Williams & Connolly, supported by 21 organizations, petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging important Fourth and Sixth Amendment violations in the case, but the Court declined to hear it.
Ross’s online clemency petition is steadily growing with over 600,000 signatures and is the largest clemency petition to the President on Change.org.
Over 300 people who personally know Ross have written and signed letters/testimonials, testifying to his excellent character and how much he has helped others.
for non-violent drug offenses
Ross Ulbricht is currently serving his 12th year in prison. He has been recognized by BOP staff as a model prisoner. He has never received a disciplinary sanction and has led classes, facilitated support groups, mediated conflicts, and served as a Suicide Watch Companion. Ross has also dedicated part of the sale of his art to charity through a fund called Art4Giving. So far, over $765,000 has been donated to charity, thanks to Ross’s art.
Based solely on the length of his sentence, and despite his non-violent history and low security score, Ross is being held at a maximum-security facility.
Throughout his ordeal, Ross has remained a fundamentally positive and compassionate human being. He clings to the hope of a second chance and dreams of a future where he can start a family with his wife Caroline, and make positive contributions to society with his education and skills.