Review of Deep Web (2015) by Eric S — 27 Aug 2015

This is an excellent documentary by writer/producer/director, Alex Winter, covering the story of the Silk Road and what the arrest & conviction of Ross Ulbricht (a website administrator) means to the rest of the U.S. citizens and our constitutional rights (specifically the 4th, 5th & 6th Amendments). This is not a story you watch mindlessly as entertainment when you want to veg-out. Be prepared to pay attention to what is said, and what is NOT said. Once the film ends, you should be asking a LOT of questions about our law enforcement, judicial system and Bill of Rights (specifically the U.S. Constitution).

HOW did the U.S. government find and get access to those servers? WHY aren't they telling?

WHO are all the people acting as Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR)? Were any of them FBI/CIA agents?

WHY is only one person being charged for the activities of the Silk Road?

WHY aren't the sellers of drugs being charged for their crimes, but one site administrator is the fall guy for all?

WHAT precedent does this set to charge other website administrators for activities of their participants? (Craigslist was not charged for Craigslist Killer. Will this case change that in future cases?).

WHY is Ross Ulbricht accused of setting up hits on several people, but he was never indicted for murder? Even with all the 'evidence'?

Was the purpose to deprive him of bail so he couldn't.

WAS Ross Ulbricht being set up? If so, by WHOM? Was it another DPR? Was it a FBI or CIA agent?

HOW can a person be denied their constitutional right to due process by govt. obstruction & delay of access to discovery evidence?

HOW can someone who is peaceful, non-violent, with no priors be sentenced to life in prison for a crime that had no victims? (Bill Cosby had dozens of victims come forward of a violent crime, but never arrested, indicted, much less convicted.).

WHY was all the prosecution's 'evidence' admitted and heard by the jury, but all the defense's hard core evidence suppressed from ever being heard?

HOW does the government get away with perjury in such a high profile case? WHAT are they hiding? WHY?

IS the case against Ross Ulbricht REALLY about the war on drugs . . . is our Big Brother Government setting the stage for something more heinous against it's citizens? (think Patriot Act).

If you walk away from this documentary only judging whether Ross Ulbricht should pay for his crime with a life sentence as a website administrator, then missed the bigger issue and you are encouraged to watch it again with an open mind . . . forgetting what mainstream media sensationalized to get higher ratings. Alex Winter does not lead you to a conclusion of Ross Ulbricht's guilt or innocence. Instead, he does a 'most excellent' job of stimulating you to think and think deeply. (Whoa! Dude!) You will simultaneously love and hate him for doing this to you. Once you are done digesting this documentary, you should be mad as hell and ready to fight for your rights as a U.S. citizen and a human being.

My only 'complaint' is wishing to have footage of the trial to watch and hear for my own eyes when the judge openly stated she was going to use Ross Ulbricht to make him an example, and when she flip-flopped from Friday to Monday regarding the need to admit the defense's evidence and getting answers from the prosecution.

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson.

Disclosure: I supported this documentary through their Kickstarter fund . . . because I knew the message was going to be important.