Ross Ulbricht’s defense team has uncovered more proof of evidence tampering in the Silk Road case undermining his life sentence for being convicted as the operator of the Silk Road marketplace.
Evidence Tampering a ‘Travesty of Justice’
Ross Ulbricht’s legal team has announced finding more proof of evidence tampering. A previously unknown copy of the Silk Road forum database clearly shows that someone with access to the site deleted significant portions of evidence, according to Ulbricht’s lawyers.
This revelation adds another layer of complexity to a case already riddled with corruption of law enforcement agents who “broke bad” and were convicted for stealing Bitcoin during the investigation as well as for other crimes.
The team also discovered proof that someone other than Ulbricht used the Dread Pirate Roberts account to log into the site nearly seven weeks after Ulbricht was imprisoned. This contradicts the government’s assertion that Ulbricht was the only person using the Dread Pirate Roberts account.
“…Obviously someone other than Mr. Ulbricht was continuing to log in to SR as DPR,” Ulbricht’s attorney Lindsay Lewis, told Vice Motherboard.
Ross’s mother Lyn Ulbricht also weighed on the new information saying,
If this back-up of the forum database had not been found; if log-ins made by DPR after Ross’ arrest were not discovered, no one would be the wiser. This begs the question: how much more is there? […] That my son — or anyone — would receive a life sentence based on such vulnerable evidence, especially when there is proof of corruption and tampering, is a travesty of justice.
Ulbricht’s Defense Team Raises $50k
The new proof has bolstered the recently held eight-hour, online fundraiser called the Free Ross-A-Thon held on December 4th. The goal of the event was to raise $14,000 USD to cover some of the legal costs of Ulbricht’s appeal.
Participants included Jeffrey Tucker, Roger Ver, Director of Deep Web Alex Winter, Best-selling author Doug Casey, Cody Wilson, and musical performances by singer, songwriter and liberty activist, Tatiana Moroz.
The event exceeded all expectations, attracting $50,000 from donors around the globe. The largest donation of $25,000 came from bitcoin angel investor and advocate Roger Ver.
“It was a lively, very interesting online conference [which] covered included liberty, privacy, legal issues, bitcoin and cryptocurrency, the drug war, and the criminal justice system,” Lynn Ulbricht told Maroz in a follow-up interview. “Speakers addressed the impact and wider implications that Ross’s case will have on society and what it means to imprison a peaceful person in prison for life.”
In May, 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison without parole — for all non-violent charges — for his alleged role as the founder of the Silk Road website. He is currently appealing his conviction and sentence in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Is the real founder of Silk Road still on the loose? Does Ross Ulbricht’s defense team have enough evidence to overturn the sentence? Share your thoughts below!
Images courtesy of freeross.org, wikipedia.org, activistpost.com