On July 28, 2023, U.S. president Joe Biden made a trip to Auburn, Maine, where he delivered a speech at Auburn Manufacturing and subsequently attended a private fundraising gathering. Eric Brakey, the Republican senator representing Maine, greeted Biden upon his arrival in Auburn and handed him a note. In the message, he suggested that the president should consider granting clemency to the Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht.
Plea for Justice: Senator’s Push for Ulbricht’s Clemency During Biden’s Maine Tour
When Joe Biden, the 46th and sitting president of the United States, made his way to Auburn, Maine, he marked the first presidential visit to the town in an entire 110-year span. Speaking at the Auburn Manufacturing site, Biden proudly proclaimed his conviction that ‘Bidenomics‘ is yielding success. “We now have more jobs than we had before the pandemic,” Biden explained during his visit. “People are coming off the sidelines — unemployment is down and so is inflation.”
As Biden paid a visit to Auburn, the Republican senator Eric Brakey took the opportunity to personally welcome the president and subsequently chronicled the event on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). “Today, I met @POTUS, welcomed him to Auburn, and gave him this note,” Brakey shared. The note itself contained the following plea:
Mr. president, welcome to Auburn ME! Please consider clemency for Ross Ulbricht. Life in prison for building a website is cruel and unusual punishment. Sincerely, Eric Brakey.
Ross Ulbricht is the founder of Silk Road, a now-defunct online darknet marketplace. In 2015, he was sentenced to a double life imprisonment without parole for various charges related to the website. Many supporters argue that his sentence is unjust due to flaws in the investigation, trial, and sentencing. They highlight concerns about misconduct by law enforcement, the disproportionate punishment compared to other similar cases, and the belief that non-violent offenders deserve a chance at rehabilitation.
A petition beseeching the U.S. president to bestow clemency upon Ulbricht has gathered momentum since its inception, with 563,708 signatures at the time of this writing. “There is a strong, bipartisan consensus that Ross’s sentence is unjust and that he deserves a second chance,” declares Ulbricht’s mother, Lyn Ulbricht, in the petition letter. “Over 250 organizations, eminent individuals, and leaders have voiced their support for Ross’s clemency.”
Thomas Massie, the Republican representative from Kentucky, echoes Brakey’s sentiments on the issue in a statement featured on freeross.org. “This is the greatest violation of the 8th Amendment that I am aware of in the United States today,” Massie stated in his endorsement for a second chance for Ulbricht. “What Ross Ulbricht did from a computer screen does not deserve 2 life sentences + 40 years without the chance of parole … This is cruel and unusual punishment … This guy should not rot in jail and die there. He deserves a second chance.”
In October 2022, Ulbricht penned a heartfelt letter to president Biden, imploring him for a second chance at life. “I know I could be—and yearn to be—a positive influence in the free world,” Ulbricht conveyed in his plea to the president. “Please give me a second chance so I can prove that I can be an asset to my community and country. If you see fit to commute my sentence, I will owe you my life, and I will never let you down.” Besides Ulbricht’s personal appeal last year, the senator from Maine is also urging Biden to contemplate granting him clemency.
What do you think about the letter the senator from Maine gave to Biden? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
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