A petition titled “Clemency for Ross Ulbricht, Serving Double Life for a Website” is about to reach 500.000 signatures.
The petitiion, directed at the President of the United States was started by Ross mother Lyn Ulbricht.
“There is a strong, bipartisan consensus that Ross’s case is a miscarriage of justice. Over 250 organizations, eminent individuals and leaders have voiced their support.” reads the beginning of the page on Change.org a worldwide petition website.
Last week, member of the House of Representatives Thomas Massie has urged to consider clemency for Ross Ulbricht:
We are so grateful to @RepThomasMassie for officially going on the record to bring attention to Ross's case and urging clemency for him.
— Free_Ross (@Free_Ross) May 20, 2022
Thank you congressman for standing up for justice and fair sentencing.#FreeRoss https://t.co/aVasikuql7
The case of Ross Ulbricht has been a sad event in bitcoin’s short history.
Ross started the website Silk Road when he felt it was a calling and the right thing to do. The website was an e-commerce platform similar to eBay that used Bitcoin as a form of payments.
Users chose what to buy and sell as long as no third party was harmed although some listings were prohibited. Both legal and illegal items were sold, most commonly personal amounts of cannabis.
Many voices have raised concern that Ross is in fact innocent as many parts of the official narrative seem to be inconsistent. Ross Ulbricht could be a victim of an intelligence maneuver used to set a precedent that would discourage from setting up bitcoin based e-commerce websites.
“Ross Ulbricht, a young, peaceful first-time offender, is serving a double life sentence plus 40 years, without parole, for all non-violent charges associated with creating the Silk Road website. An Eagle Scout and scholarship student, he was a 26-year-old idealistic libertarian—passionate about free markets and privacy—when he made the site. Ross was never prosecuted for causing harm or bodily injury and no victim was named at trial. This is a sentence that shocks the conscience.”
Chris Woolridge one of the supporters of the petition to free Ross have stated:
“This sentence is purely meant to intimidate US citizens and is not, by any means, a form of justice.”
Alex Winter a supporter from Loas Angeles commented: “No matter where you stand on the Silk Road and Ross’s case, this is an egregious sentence.”
Ross has received widespread support as the hashtag #FreeRoss has generated millions of impressions on social media. The campaign is just about to get traction as more people research the true motives of both Ross and his possible adversaries.