I definitely don’t believe the murder-for-hire allegation. They didn’t even charge him with it, but they acted like it was real in the trial. They spent a whole day on it. I don’t believe it for a second and neither do people who know Ross. What do I think about what he did? He’s a very freedom-oriented and libertarian guy, and I respect that. There might have been some youthful zeal in there. I think young people sometimes don’t know the consequences; they’re very idealistic. But I do know he doesn’t have a mean, violent or cruel bone in his body. I think he’s being accused of things he didn’t do.

Alex, what stood out to you about Ross’ story that made you want to pursue this project?

Alex Winter: Coming off the Napster movie, I spent a lot of time in that world, probably 13 or 14 years. I had met quite a lot of people in encryption back in the late '80s and early '90s — and seeing the evolution of using the Internet as a form of global community, social activism and not criminality. If you have any environment, then people, both good and bad, will use that environment. But that didn’t interest me. What interested me was the social community of it. I was interested in Bitcoin from a community aspect and the dark net from a community aspect.

When Ross was arrested and the news hit, I was immediately struck by the similarities in the way they were representing his story and the way they were representing [founder] Sean Fanning’s story during the Napster era — only the stakes were way higher. I think Sean got eviscerated in the process and I don’t take that lightly. I think the system came down on him, but here you’re talking about a guy facing the rest of his life in prison. The narrative being put forward was so superficial at best and darkly inaccurate at worst that it needed some light shone on it. It wasn’t motivated by a feeling that I had the right story and that someone else had the wrong story. I just felt like people don’t tell the story. The thing about this world is the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know and the more you realize what’s not being said.

What does Ross' case say about the sentencing of cases involving so-called victimless crimes?

Lyn Ulbricht: I’ve been told by more than one lawyer that prosecutors are pushing for the maximum [sentencing] because it looks good on their resume. We’re talking about the equivalent of life. I was talking to him last week and he said, “You know, mom, a life sentence is really a death sentence. Either way, you die in prison — one just takes longer.” No one came forth as a victim in that trial to say, “Ross Ulbricht harmed me in any way.” And I find the mandatory minimums totally unconstitutional and the amount of time [they're] talking about is draconian and I would say barbaric, and certainly way beyond what’s sufficient for Ross not to ever make Silk Road again. He could walk out of prison tomorrow and they would not have a problem with Ross again. Even 20 years, which is the minimum, would be making an example of him. He’s 30, and he’d be 50 by the time he got out. You could say those are the best or most productive years of his life.

Alex Winter: I want to add that it’s important to underscore that he wasn’t charged for violent crimes, period. They’ve used these murder-for-hire allegations as public relations to soften the blow of the mandatory minimum sentence. The reality is these sentences have nothing to do with violent offenses. They have everything to do with the level of punitive sentencing around the drug war, which is commonly known as being draconian for nonviolent offenders.