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Sam Bankman-Fried's jail conditions offer a glimpse at systemic failure
- labrador 3y agoImagine a man playing the worlds smallest violin to accompany SBF's tale of woe
- jrflowers 3y agoIt’s funny because it could happen to any person that gets charged with any crime in the US
- weard_beard 3y agoFlagrantly violating a multimillion dollar bond agreement 3x by tampering with witnesses and therefore being unable to access digital equipment to prepare your case? Subsisting off bread and peanut butter and running out of ADHD meds because of same said violations of the terms of your pre-trial release? Still being given access to highly competent legal representation, access to a computer, and given multiple hearings to renegotiate your pre-trial re-release despite major violations the first time? No, I don't think many people fall in that bucket.
- jrflowers 3y agoThis makes sense, he is in the special “Flagrantly violating a multimillion dollar bond agreement 3x by tampering with witnesses and therefore being unable to access digital equipment to prepare your case” jail that they built specially just for him. The idea that these circumstances could happen to literally anyone charged with any crime is factually incorrect because that would imply that are others in similar conditions, of which there are none.
- pseg134 3y agoIt doesn’t seem like you actually care about this but if you do, it is important to have a sympathetic face to get public support. There is a reason Rosa Parks was chosen as the face of the bus boycott. SBF is never going to be the face of prison reform so acting antagonistically to people online not giving him sympathy probably won’t help prison reform.
- jrflowers 3y agoI like this article because the author chose an unpopular person. The majority of the comments are highbrow versions “ROFL eat bread bitch”, which is illustrative of a large and vocal group of people that believe that basic dignity should be punitively stripped by the state in the case of criminal behavior (of which they could never even be accused)
- labrador 3y agoHow many chances do you think a wealthy man from an upper class family should get? He's already burned through more considerations than poor people ever get. Do you understand the concept of deterrence? He's being made an example. SBF is getting body slammed with the harsh reality of the consequences of white collar criminal behavior to serve as a lesson to all the other potential white collar criminals out there. The message is that it doesn't matter if you are wealthy and come from a connected family. The rules apply to everyone.
- jrflowers 3y ago> How many chances do you think a wealthy man from an upper class family should get? I have a question. Do you see any difference between the following two sentences? 1. The conditions that SBF is in could be experienced by any person accused of a crime in the US. And 2. SBF should not be in jail. I have not said anything that could possibly be construed as #2 but it seems like you are asking me why I said that? Edit: I do appreciate the honesty in stating that you believe that this sort of treatment of prisoners is a good thing. If nobody admitted that they felt that way, the mystery of why we treat people that are accused of crime terribly would forever remain a black box. It is, however, genuinely amusing that people think that he’s getting treated Extra Bad because he’s an Extra Bad Guy. Buddy, jail, not prison but jail is the place that you could find yourself tonight without a judge or jury. The only requirement for jail is probable cause or an officer having a bad day. You (the person inside the US reading this) could have your diet dictated and medication punitively taken away by the state while you are reading this sentence.
- TheHumanist 3y agoRight. He's been given way too much leniency already and look what he did with it. He's an asshole. He doesn't care. He cares about SAM, that's it. So, let him sit and cry because he 'has' to eat bread and peanut butter because he CHOOSES to stick to a vegan diet. I know plenty of vegans that, if presented with a situation where it was only PB and bread or other options, they would just say "Eh, well... I can just eat the other stuff for now because this is what there is..." That's a reasonable person. He is not reasonable and he is showing more and more how pathetically self-centered he really is.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- jrflowers 3y ago> I know plenty of vegans that, if presented with a situation where it was only PB and bread or other options, they would just say "Eh, well... I can just eat the other stuff for now because this is what there is..." This makes sense. There is a logical reason to deny vegans food that fits their diet, and if you think about it getting arrested while being a vegan is basically two crimes. Any vegan accused of any crime should be forced to eat meat as a punitive default. The reasoning for this is obvious, for example
- TheHumanist 3y agoThere actually is a logical reason and that reason is they can only produce and provide so much in a day in a prison. They can't make all these custom meals. That's now how the kitchen works in a prison.
- jrflowers 3y agoI like the idea that “giving people vegetables” puts undue stress on the state of California. Can you elaborate on how kitchens work in prison and jails?
- 3y ago
- labrador 3y agoHe was given every break afforded wealthy people and could have lived a comfortable life preparing for trial, but he choose to break the rules. Maybe you missed the part about witness intimidation from his comfy home that resulted in him getting locked up in "unfair" conditions.
- tedunangst 3y agoAs a practical matter, which documents does he need to personally review and can't he instruct his lawyers to find them and bring print outs? I can imagine there is a mountain of evidence, like a transaction log for every wallet involved, but what would he accomplish by reviewing that in person? Oh, see here, this transaction on June 12 at 3:14 proves my innocence!
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago> Sam Bankman-Fried, a vegan, has been subsisting on a diet of bread and water, with the occasional smear of peanut butter. I think when you go to prison, in addition to giving up your freedom of movement, you give up your dietary preferences. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the article. I thought it would be about SBF getting special treatment in prison on account of his wealth and connections and that would be the failure described. Seeing the actual article makes me feel that he is being treated justly. Remember SBF is a psychopath and will say or do anything to manipulate people.
- slavboj 3y agoHe is not in "prison". He is being detained pre trial and presumed innocent.
- dragontamer 3y agoEhhhh, SBF was tampering with witnesses. SBF had a cushy house arrest inside his private Billionaire-class mansion until he started tampering with witnesses. SBF is presumed innocent (for now) on FTX issues. But he's being punished for his poor pre-trial behaviors. Which is fair and just, prison conditions aside.
- TheHumanist 3y agoTheir point is he is not in prison. Prison is post-conviction. Jail/detention center is pre-trial.
- r00fus 3y agoHe's in jail because he violated the terms of his very cushy house-arrest. So I would say he has been imprisoned for violations, even though he hasn't been convicted of his original crime.
- readthenotes1 3y ago
- Anon_Forever 3y ago[flagged]
- adasdasdas 3y agoMan can't get adderall in jail? Abolish prisons
- hmmmcurious1 3y agoEach time the media makes a new sob story for this monster I roll my eyes. Nobody cares about the dozens of incidents of police brutality daily but every media big wig cares for this guy getting his peanut butter rations.
- gumby 3y agoThat’s the whole point of this article: he has it better than most, and what most people are subjected to is inhumane. As a side point it also shits on the same narrative you decry (e.g. his lawyers complain that there isn’t enough time to review evidence but turned down an extension).
- hmmmcurious1 3y agoIf the point of the article is that then start the article with it not with how hard Sam's life is.
- stareatgoats 3y agoIt's a literary technique, and if you would have been familiar with Molly Whites writing you would likely have expected the twist to occur further down in the article - which it did.
- 9dev 3y agoWell. Don’t expect your readers to be journalism majors if you want to make a point, because elaborate hidden twists lead to reactions just like this one. Being all elitist about it doesn’t work well either.
- tzs 3y agoI'm reasonably certain that one does not have be a journalism major to manage to reach the 6th paragraph, about 550 words in, of a short (8 paragraph, 900 word) article to find the "elaborate hidden twist". Especially since the article mentions in paragraph 3 that people are mocking SBF for his requests, says in paragraph 4 that it is his own fault for repeatedly ignoring warnings from the judge that he might have his house arrest rescinded and go to jail to await trial if he didn't stop abusing his privileges, and starts paragraph 5 with a "Furthermore" indicating that the criticism of his complaints continue. Then paragraph 6 starts with "However" telling you that maybe there is more to the story than SBF's ridiculous complaints and goes on to discuss how real mistreatment of prisoners is a serious problem. So in fact one only has to make it past paragraph 2, about 180 words, to start finding out that this is not a "sob story" for SBF, and then even a bit of casual skimming will find the upcoming "Furthermore" and "However" paragraphs.
- hartator 3y agoMoney still buys him good PR.
- pseg134 3y agoDoes anyone have connections at Kraken? I am getting all of Molly Whites KYC connected wallets to see what money SBF still has under control. I have Coinbase and most other US exchanges covered.
- akira2501 3y agoGive me a break. He's in jail because he VIOLATED the conditions of his earlier release. If he wanted his freedom, he needed to prove he could follow the courts orders, since he cannot, he is no longer entitled to his pre-trial freedom. The kid gloves with this guy are absolutely insane.
- miked85 3y agoThis post could easily be interpreted as parody.
- monero-xmr 3y agoFor various reasons I know several incarcerated prisoners and ex-convicts. Some is related to Catholic volunteering and others are people I knew from my community (none from crypto despite my user name). To be quite frank, jail and prison in medium / low / camp is nowhere near as bad as described in my state (which I shall not reveal). It is a blue state. I think NYC is uniquely terrible.
- exar0815 3y agoWhat I find really interesting is that the man has so far not been found guilty. So he is factually innocent, yet still has seemingly all basic human rights stripped from him. Now I know that "Innocent until proven guilty" is a euro-socialist concept which does not apply to the rightfully detained people in the glorious US of A, because the modern and infallible justice system spearheaded by its brillant and impartial police force would never even think of making any errors. Thats why the modern and comfortable prisons which are basically empty nearly never produce any repeat offenders when the few that are even incarcerated are released into society after their successful resocialization. Oh wait, no. We are talking about the only industrialized country in the western world still clinging to a "But the majority says so" justice system of mass punishment and gleeful misstreatment - where you still can be legally shot or electrocuted or hanged when you dont look like someone "the people" like. And the self-proclaimed upper-class of this country, stemming mostly from the area of said country that feels morally and ethically superior to the rest (Valleyfornians) still are gleefully happy in the comments that mistreatment worth of totalitarian regimes is applied to a white collar criminal.
- jandrese 3y agoWhile true, “but SBF might not be found guilty” is not a hill I would personally choose to die on.
- exar0815 3y agoWhich is completely besides the point, however dire it looks, guilty is decided by the Judge. (Or the jury in less... modern countries)
- TheHumanist 3y agoWhile I do understand your points and even agree overall... it's just so hard to have any sympathy for someone that feels almost sociopathic in their decision making to ruin so many people financially. It's very hard.
- pseudo0 3y ago
- pasttense01 3y agoI just don't believe he is restricted to bread and water. This violates common sense. Common sense suggests prisons want to limit the amount of money they spend on feeding the prisoners. Meat is expensive. So I would expect there would be plenty of potatoes and other cheap vegetables, but only a limited amount of meat. But Sam's lawyers are saying the reverse is true.
- jrflowers 3y agoThis article highlights the importance of making sure jails are as inhumane as possible by default for everyone. Making any effort to improve them systemically could benefit one specific egregious, obviously guilty idiot grifter, and if that happened we would lose the most important thing: laughing at his condition. If you think about it, the decades of treating prisoners as less than human were actually justified as a sandbox to perfect misery in the run up to FTX, and the decades of continuing the practice will be good because that one guy will probably still be there.
- pseudo0 3y agoWorking as intended. SBF repeatedly violated his bail conditions, his situation is completely self-inflicted, and no one cares about his whining.
- tennisflyi 3y agoWhy does everyone think jail isn’t shitty? Whether it should be is a different story.
- richardjam73 3y agoI don't understand why people are misreading this article so badly.