So this kid who hacked into all those twitter accounts to cyphen out $173k worth in bitcoins and comprimising a massive social media platform costing them millions in a PR mess only gets 3 years in prison while Dread pirate roberts gets life?
You forget that the US justice system treats ordinary proceedings differently and proceedings that are of a political nature. And the Ross Ulbricht case was one of those times when the government wanted to show strength in the fight against drugs. Although in most cases such a "war on drugs" does not give visible results, I believe this high-profile case promised someone high-ranking positions
(in the sense that, covering one channel for the distribution of prohibited substances, another immediately appears). So Ross, by and large, is just a hostage of the situation.