That's pretty ironic you would make that comparison. As far as I'm aware Manson didn't kill anyone either, just allegedly ordered or influenced others to do so, much like what allegedly Ross did.
Only that 6 people were really dead after beeing killed. There are no dead people in Ross' case.
That's besides the point. He still arranged the hits so his intent was clear even if it was a sting operation. As long as it wasn't entrapment then he's essentially attempted to have someone murdered of his own volition (though even if it was entrapment he still should have known better and was still willing to have someone killed to protect his interests).
Problem is: When you take LE out of the game, there would be no murder story. Even this murder wasn't intended by Ross at the start. It was his mentor Variety Jones (
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=935434.0 ) , who convinced him to order the hit, after Ross wanted only his money back.
I agree with you in the point of his intentions at the time of his decision to actually "kill" people (if it was really proven it was him ---> Maryland indictment still to come ). He should get a bonus round for that one, like 5 extra years on top of 5 ys for the drug dealing. 10 years is a very long time in prison
If you have 6 people dead and someone is responsible: life (or even death sentence). If noone is killed: Give him a few years in a cell together with some tough guys and he will learn some important things about life in general, hrhrhr.
Not necessarily. If it was Variety Jones that suggested the murders and he still went ahead (unless VJ is LE). Even so, he still agreed to the hits and this is something he should have 100% been against especially given his so called libertarian principles. I also think the murder for hire charges will likely be dropped especially considering the corruption of the officers involved with setting them up.