Coindesk reveals SBF's detention conditions: overcrowded, some food moldy, and dim lighting
ChainCatcher news, Coindesk reports revealing SBF's current living conditions and daily life at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in New York. The article states that since losing bail, SBF has been living in this prison for six weeks, and the conditions and environment are vastly different from SBF's previous residence in the Caribbean.
SBF's lawyers told the judge: "The internet speed here is slow, the living area is too dirty, and the food options in the cafeteria are very limited. SBF survives on bread and water, sometimes with peanut butter." The Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center is a large prison complex consisting of two buildings, housing over 1,600 male and female inmates, many of whom are still awaiting trial. Currently incarcerated inmates also include former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges, and Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who pleads not guilty to fraud charges.
SBF's schedule at the detention center may be quite strict. A resident handbook for the facility shows that inmates wake up at 6 AM and must make their beds, mop the floors, and take out the trash. After that, inmates may work around the prison, serving as prep cooks in the kitchen, providing cleaning services throughout the complex, or assisting in the facility's maintenance shop.
Lunch and dinner are served at 11 AM and 4 PM, respectively, with meals supposed to include meat, starches, and vegetables or fruits, but inmates actually receive cold cuts, sandwich bread, moldy cake, and other "unidentifiable food." SBF is a vegetarian, and if he does not like the food provided in the cafeteria, he can purchase peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a weekly $150 commissary allowance, each costing $3.65. According to the complex's regulations, he can buy a maximum of two per day.
Inmates can rest. However, the detention center lacks areas for recreational activities. SBF will have to hang out with his fellow inmates in the indoor community room, where they can play cards, chat, and watch TV. The dormitories and rooms within the prison are kept in semi-darkness 24 hours a day, and inmates can often be heard shouting loudly in their cells throughout the night. Many areas of the detention center lack heating, and most of the facility's air conditioning units are rarely functional.