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The decision to send one of the most prominent members of the Trump campaign prosecuted by special advocate Robert Mueller in the infamous prison of Rikers Island, a reputed New York City, shocked many people in the legal community – and even some Democrats do not normally sympathize with Mueller's targets.
Fox News announced earlier this week that Paul Manafort, President of President Trump's campaign, was being transferred from a federal prison to Rikers Island, New York City, renowned for gang-related violence and harboring some the most infamous violent offenders. A state judge ordered the transfer at the request of New York City District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr., who is suing Manafort over alleged residential mortgage fraud, falsified trade records, and so on.
Criminal defense lawyers quickly criticized the decision.
SHAUN KING, AN ACTIVIST IN BLACK LIFE, SAYS THAT MANAFORT DOES NOT DESERVE RIKERS
"This is another example of the militarization of the criminal process to gain a partisan advantage," said defense attorney Alan Dershowitz in an opinion piece for Fox News. The Emeritus Professor of Law at Harvard hypothesized that Manhattan prosecutors would intentionally put Manafort into harsh conditions to incite him to collaborate with them while state officials were investigating the case. President Trump.
Manafort faces white-collar accusations, and Dershowitz claimed that sending him to the same institution housing "Sam's Son" and John Lennon's murderer, Mark David Chapman, is inappropriate: "The tactic of compelling a potential witness by rendering his imprisonment excessively harsh is usually reserved for Mafiosi, terrorists and other violent criminals likely to have evidence against their leaders. "
Scott Hechinger, a public defender in Brooklyn, also criticized the decision.
"Rikers Island and Solitary Confinement are two tortures" no one should be subjected, "tweeted Hechinger." By supporting solitary Manafort, we support an immoral, barbaric, cruel and unusual practice. Torture has long-term consequences on mental health and debilitating. And lonely for one means loneliness is available to all. "
Even the representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Whose district includes the Rikers, strongly criticized the idea of keeping Manafort in isolation, as reported.
"A prison sentence is not a license for torture and human rights violations committed by governments, this is what solitary confinement does," Ocasio Cortez tweeted on Wednesday. "Manafort should be released, as well as all those detained in isolation."
New York City defense attorney Julie Rendelman explained in part why prosecutors may want to bring Manafort to New York.
"It is not unreasonable for the prosecutor and the state judge to want an individual confronted with a [New York] Criminal case must remain local during the process, given the many status conferences that are held in the months following a trial and before the trial, "Rendelman told Fox News.
But she said "it's possible to waive the appearance of a client for many of these conferences," suggesting that Manafort could oppose the decision. Another argument is the effect that these conditions could have on the health of Manafort, who has declined since his first incarceration for his two federal cases – involving a series of frauds and other charges that resulted in a death penalty. Imprisonment for about seven years.
"Given his age and potential health problems, it's certainly possible to make a decision that could send him back to Pennsylvania in the near future, unless it's needed in New York," said Rendelman.
For his part, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said Manafort would be treated "like any other inmate" at Rikers. The usual treatment of the detainees in this locality, however, pushed some of the mayor's Liberal colleagues to take sides with Manafort.
PAUL MANAFORT WILL NOT HAVE SPECIAL TREATMENT AT THE ISLAND OF RIKERS, OF BLASIO DIT
Liberal activist Shaun King said Rikers was a "hell" that nobody should go to, not even "enemies".
Manafort is currently incarcerated in a minimum security prison in Pennsylvania, where he is serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for crimes such as conspiracy and tax evasion. The charges held by New York State, if they resulted in a conviction, would prevent him from being released in case of presidential pardon, which would only apply to the federal law crimes.
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