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Former Silk Road Vendor to stay in prison despite COVID 19 outbreak

New York federal judge Jed Rakoff rejected the request of a convicted Silk Road vendor for a compassionate release amid the c
New York federal judge Jed Rakoff rejected the request of a convicted Silk Road vendor for a compassionate release amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The former Silk Road vendor, Hugh Haney, had requested a temporary release earlier this month. Haney’s lawyer Martin Cohen argued that the Manhattan Metropolitan Detention Center was on the verge of a severe COVID-19 outbreak as out of seven inmates tested three were found positive. There are a total of 1700 prisoners in the Manhattan Metropolitan Detention Center.

Former Silk Raod Vendor’s argument justifies the release of every prisoner above the age of 60.

The judge said that the prisoner is less than 65 years old and if compared to other prisoners who applied for the release because they have asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or other health conditions that make them unusually vulnerable to the coronavirus, Haney is in good health. While Judge Rakoff (1) noted that Haney is at a higher risk of suffering complications from coronavirus because of his age, but if he is granted release, it will justify the release of every federal prisoner above the age of 60.

Haney is serving a 42-month sentence for selling oxycodone on the darknet.

Hugh Haney has already served nine months of a 42-month sentence for selling oxycodone on the infamous darknet e-commerce website Silk Road in 2012. The founder of Silk Raod, Ross Ulbricht, is also serving a double life sentence with no possibility of parole. Haney was arrested last year after he attempted to liquidate his crypto holdings, which were then valued at $19 million. Judge Rakoff, however, allowed Haney the opportunity to appeal the ruling on the basis that his lawyer provided ineffective representation.

So far, the USA has reported the most number of coronavirus cases in the entire world. Currently, there are over 524,000 positive cases in the country, with over 23,600 deaths. The total number of positive cases in the world now is over 1,938,000, with over 120,000 deaths. The new numbers of infections and deaths are still growing exponentially as several countries continue to remain under lockdown.

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