Not at all. People should receive treatment instead of mandatory minimums, but we are a country of laws. Change the laws. Putting up a website that operates like the wild west where anything goes is not conducive for a stable society. Classifying my comment as a "think of the children" is not exactly fair discourse. I'm being fair to your comments, maybe be fair to mine. Families are sometimes affected and it's reasonable to think of them. Families are part of society and families contribute to the stability of society.
I've had a few students who were retired and were learning just for their own interest but most of my "older" students are going to school to get themselves to a paycheck. As someone who has learned programming on my own for some hobby projects, learning programming is probably not the fastest way to a stable income. Math, Sciences, and Computer Science are very demanding programs and can be challenging for "older" students, not because they can't do the work but because college is hard for someone with kids, mortgage, car payment etc.
It's not bizarre at all. A guy behind a computer or a guy leading a company can do so much more damage than any murderer. The "guy behind the computer" didn't hack up and at people but ruined the lives and many people, and their families. You might argue that everyone on silk road is a little guilty and that's probably true but he facilitated the ruining of lives of many spouses and children who did nothing wrong.