First of all, leniency is usually expected (and this was the exact opposite of leniency) if it is someone's first offense or if they seemed like a good citizen prior.

Second of all, people missed my point I guess: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42792552

Third of all, the Silk Road saved lives.

https://cybercrimejournal.com/pdf/Lacson%26Jonesvol10issue1I...

https://gwern.net/doc/darknet-market/silk-road/1/2013-vanhou...