President Trump is being asked to grant clemency to Ross Ulbricht, the convicted mastermind of the infamous Silk Road website serving life imprisonment without parole, as the Department of Justice makes strides in its efforts to prosecute others suspected of helping run the defunct dark-web bazaar.
An online petition seeking clemency for Ulbricht, 34, has garnered over 7,600 signatures since being added to Change.org on Friday, the same day prosecutors announced the extradition of Gary Davis, an Irishman accused of holding a paid position as one of Silk Road’s administrators prior to its shuttering in 2013.
Nearly five years since Ulbricht’s arrest, the plea for clemency and extradition of Davis and another one of Silk Road’s suspected administrators highlight opposite sides of the lingering issues involving the site — “a sprawling black-market bazaar where unlawful goods and services, including illegal drugs of virtually all varieties, were bought and sold regularly by the site’s users,” according to federal prosecutors.
“Ross is condemned to die in prison, not for dealing drugs himself but for a website where others did,” said Lyn Ulbricht, his mother and the creator of the Change.org petition. “This is far harsher than the punishment for many murderers, pedophiles, rapists and other violent people.”
Launched in 2011, Silk Road facilitated over $1.2 billion in illegal transactions prior to being seized by authorities in tandem with Ulbricht’s arrest in September 2013, according to federal prosecutors
Ulbricht was ultimately convicted on seven counts related to running Silk Road, including narcotics and money laundering conspiracies, and subsequently received two life sentences without the possibility of parole. Both his conviction and sentences were upheld in 2017 by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court declined late last Month to hear a petition filed on his behalf, effectively leaving few options for his release besides presidential intervention.
“No matter where you stand on the Silk Road and Ross’s case, this is an egregious sentence,” said Alex Winter, an actor and film director who made a documentary about Silk Road and Ulbricht’s arrest, 2015’s “Deep Web.”
Mr. Davis was charged by U.S. prosecutors with similar counts related to Silk Road shortly after Ulbricht’s arrest and also faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. He agreed last month to surrender to authorities after his final appeal was denied by Ireland’s high court, and on Friday he made his first appearance in Manhattan federal court.
“Thanks to our partner agencies here and abroad, Davis now faces justice in an American court,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.
Mr. Davis allegedly served as a paid Silk Road administrator, “monitoring user activity on Silk Road for problems, responding to customer service inquiries and resolving disputes between buyers and vendors,” according to prosecutors. He was ordered held by a federal magistrate Friday and scheduled to appear this Thursday afternoon before District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Roger Thomas Clark, a 56-year-old Canadian man also accused of helping Ulbricht, similarly lost a lengthy extradition battle earlier last month and was sent from Thailand to the U.S. to face charges related to Silk Road. He pleaded not guilty last month in Manhattan federal court and is currently next scheduled to appear for a conference on September 20.
Two federal officials involved in the Silk Road investigation that resulted in Ulbricht’s conviction — former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges and former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Carl Force — were later found guilty of criminal charges related to their conduct during the probe.
A similar petition seeking a pardon for Ulbricht from then-President Barack Obama received only 1,972 signatures prior to becoming dormant in 2015.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.