[eLLyfiGneg]

The prosecutors were going after much more serious charges, namely the conspiracy to traffic narcotics and the CCE so they rightly threw the evidence towards proving those in court rather than take a segue into a charge that has something like a 10 year max sentence. A "non-violent" kingpin is a rarity, and they proved with massive amounts of evidence that Ulbricht was like any other kingpin, willing to use violence to protect his empire. The judge methodically walked through the sentencing guidelines, and Ulbricht scored a whopping 50 out of 43 (only 2 points were added for the directed use of violence).

Ulbricht should be grateful none of the murders actually happened as the CCE has a special clause for murders carried out as part of operating the criminal enterprise, making the defendant eligible for the death penalty. Contract murder is quite serious because of the huge amount of premeditation involved (i.e. not a "crime of passion" or temporary misjudgment) and cold-blooded motives such as money or concealing other criminal activity.