What exactly was he prosecuted for, and what is the sentence he was given?
Double life-sentence + 40 years.
He ran a website on the Dark Web called The Silk Road, he went by the name Dread Pirate Roberts from the movie “The Princess Bride”, on that website, using bitcoin, drugs of any kind could be bought and sold and shipped to you directly.
It was sort of like the Ebay of the Dark Web.
It was alleged he hired hitmen to murder rivals or people who might have ratted on him, although the government never charged him with anything to do with hitmen or murder.
He got life without parole, what did him in IMO was he embarrassed the Government and politicians, and they made an example out of him.
He created (not alone) and managed the Silk Road platform, like an eBay, where individuals could buy and sell things; but often used to sell illegal substances, using anonymous names, addresses and payment methods like crypto.
I don’t think he deserved two life sentences and am not sure how involved he was in illicit trafficking beyond simply being one of the people who created and managed the platform.