U.S. Senate Candidate Signs Clemency Petition For Ross Ulbricht
Kevin O'Brien
Updated
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Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is currently serving a double life sentence plus 40 years for his role in operating the infamous Silk Road website. Ulbricht is not eligible for parole.
He is currently imprisoned at the high-security United States Penitentiary, Florence High, in Colorado.
In August, Maine State Senator and current U.S. Senate Candidate Eric Brakey tweeted how Ulbricht has “very clearly been treated unfairly by our criminal justice system.”
Senator Brakey said he signed a change.org petition asking President Donald Trump to grant clemency, and noted how he would like to visit Ulbricht the next time he was in Colorado.
On September 27th, Ulbricht ‘responded’ to the Tweet. He thanked Senator Brakey for signing the petition and said he was his “new favorite Senate candidate.” Ulbricht asked how people could get him elected.
In mid-July family and friends of Ulbricht created a Twitter account to help him “find my voice here after all these years of silence.”
Through the account, Ulbricht relays his thoughts about the clemency petition and shares other musings. He explained in late-July how he dictates his Tweets by phone and then they are posted on the account. The comments are printed out and mailed to him to read.
A Punishment That Shocks The Conscience?
In June, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition by Ulbricht for a writ of certiorani, which closed the door on him being able to appeal his punishment before the Court.
A growing number of organizations, people, and activists have expressed concern that Ulbricht’s Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights were violated during the investigative and sentencing process.
According to change.org, 84,465 people have signed the clemency petition as of September 29th. Its description notes how the criminal justice process for Ulbricht included “corrupt federal investigators (now in prison) who were hidden from the jury, as well as prosecutorial misconduct, constitutional violations and reliance on unproven allegations at sentencing.”
In July, the Libertarian Party of the United States passed a resolution at their convention asking President Trump to give Ulbricht a full pardon since his appeal to the Supreme Court was denied.
Later in the Twitter thread, Senator Brakey mentioned how it was “terrible to learn that the judge considered pending charges during sentencing that were later dismissed due to corruption by federal investigators — and his appeal was still dismissed.”
He said the issue would be raised with President Trump “when I win election to the U.S. Senate this November.”
Silk Road Proceedings Still Continue
Earlier in September, CCN reported on how Gary Davis pled not guilty in a New York court to a variety of charges. Davis has been accused of assisting Ulbricht in an administrative capacity to operate Silk Road.
Davis, who was extradited from Ireland, reportedly faces a life sentence if he is convicted.
He says he is a victim of mistaken identity, but authorities allege he received weekly payments from Ulbricht, listed drugs on the Silk Road, and also worked as a customer care agent for the site.
