The head attorney for Silk Road founder and convicted felon Ross Ulbricht has asked the judge that his upcoming sentencing hearing be postponed, according to a Friday court filing

Why does this lawyer, Joshua Dratel, want the date to be pushed back? Because, he argues, the defense needs adequate time to review the government’s latest revelation that six people died as a result of overdosing on drugs they purchased on Silk Road.

What's more, the government intends to present two of the parents of the deceased who will testify at the sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for May 15 in New York federal court. The alleged evidence of overdoses suggests the government is seeking perhaps the fullest possible sentence—life in prison—for Ulbricht.

As Ars reported at the end of the trial in February, Ulbricht was found guilty of seven charges including three drug counts: distributing or aiding and abetting the distribution of narcotics, distributing narcotics or aiding and abetting distribution over the Internet, and conspiracy to violate narcotics laws.

Dratel also called the relevant materials sent to the defense so far “woefully inadequate.” He also seems to be arguing that Silk Road, in fact, was actually interested in minimizing its buyers’ and seller’s risk. As he writes:

In addition, the government’s introduction of this issue—the Silk Road web site’s alleged responsibility for certain deaths, whether or not from substances purchased from vendors on the Silk Road site—makes highly relevant a related issue: the extent to which the Silk Road web site reduced the dangers of substance abuse, and consciously and deliberately incorporated “harm reduction” strategies to implement that objective.

Ulbricht’s lawyer, who also reiterated in the same filing that his client was not guilty, did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment early Saturday morning.