I watched a really good recap of this issue just recently on D.tube.
For instance, did you know about the officer that claimed to infiltrate Silk Road and implement a sting operation against Ross? Apparently, Ulbricht hired a hit-man to kill someone and just so happened to have the dumb luck of picking a police officer. What are the odds?
Also, what are the odds that this officer would later be convicted of stealing millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin from the operation. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
In addition, many of the criminals on Silk Road performing legitimate crimes got way less harsh sentences than Ross, who basically was just running a forum.
At most, I could justify giving him 5 years. Making an example out of someone because they were successful isn't an effective deterrent. The punishment does not fit the crime at all. They are acting like he was in control of everything when it's obvious that even other people had access to his login.
Winner winner chicken dinner!!