Thursday, January 23, 2020

Michael Avenatti should not be in solitary confinement

That's the title of my latest piece in The Hill.  Please let me know your thoughts.  From the introduction:

Imagine being held by yourself in a small, freezing cold cell 24 hours a day. Not allowed to go outside. Not allowed to make a phone call. Not allowed to go to the bathroom without being watched. Not allowed to shave. Not allowed to visit with a family member. Shivering and alone, day after day.
This is bad enough for a hardened convicted criminal who cannot safely be housed with others. But imagine being held in these conditions when you have not been convicted of any crime. And when the only crime of which you have been accused is a non-violent financial crime.
This is no crazy, off-the-wall hypothetical. It is a strategy too often used against accused first-time non-violent offenders in an attempt to crush them and coerce them into pleading guilty.
This is what is happening right now to Michael Avenatti.
And it is wrong.
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9 comments:

  1. Bob Becerra11:54 AM

    It is wrong. Certainly he cannot have a security classification warranting it. Or perhaps he has not yet been classified and they throw all such prisoners in solitary? If that is so, it is wrong too.

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  2. Anonymous3:37 PM

    I think it's plausible that they are concerned for his safety if he were to enter the general population. After Epstein can you imagine the fallout if Avenatti got his ass beat, or worse? He also seems like the type of guy who has a high potential to piss people off, too. Anyway, I wonder if the decision were up to him would he prefer his current arrangement to going into a pod or some other arrangement where he had to mingle with some rough characters.

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  3. Anonymous4:08 PM

    Epstein was in solitary when he killed himself.

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  4. Anonymous6:06 PM

    The BOP often sticks people in the SHU to coerce guilty pleas? Seems hard to believe. Maybe I'm naïve.

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  5. Anonymous10:58 AM

    4:08-No shit.

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  6. Anonymous11:00 AM

    4:08-No shit.

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  7. Craig D. Rolle, Esq.11:58 AM

    Well said. I totally agree.

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  8. Anonymous1:24 PM

    Once again this only becomes an issue when it happens to a white man.

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  9. Anonymous9:12 AM

    1:24
    I'm with you!
    (I would add rich too)

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