Go to jail, pay $ 200,000 and leave: Donald Trump will make himself available to the Georgia authorities on Thursday, who have charged him, but will come out free from the Fulton County jail, notorious for the mortality of inmates and its unsanitary conditions.
Like the 18 others accused of illicit attempts to reverse the result of the 2020 election, the ex-president has until Friday at noon (4:00 p.m. GMT) to officially surrender in Atlanta, the capital of this key state in the world. southeast of the country.
He will escape detention anyway under an agreement on the payment of a bond of 200,000 dollars. But it is still difficult to determine which exceptions to common law he could benefit from because of his status.
The rules in force throughout the United States provide for the taking of fingerprints and two photos of the defendant – one full face and the other in profile – the famous “mugshot”.
Already criminally charged three times in separate cases, Donald Trump has so far managed to evade during his appearances in New York, Florida (southeast) and in the federal capital Washington to the humiliating ritual of “mugshot”, in particular because of its notoriety.
But Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said earlier this month he wanted to treat all defendants the same. “Whatever your status, we will be ready to take your picture,” he said.
This has already been the case for the first two of the 19 defendants to appear on Tuesday, including constitutional expert and lawyer John Eastman.
On Wednesday, six defendants had already undergone this procedure, which also provides for the recording in the archives of the prison administration of the height, weight, skin color and eyes of each.
In a press release from his campaign published on Tuesday, Donald Trump, the big favorite in the Republican primaries for the 2024 presidential election, is indignant at having to surrender Thursday to justice in the state of Georgia in a “violent prison”.
In fact, the Ministry of Justice announced in July the opening of an investigation into the conditions of detention in Fulton prison, also known by its nickname “Rice Street”.
Justice Minister Merrick Garland had justified this decision by “serious allegations of insecurity and unsanitary conditions, excessive use of force” as well as “discrimination against prisoners suffering from psychiatric problems and lack of medical care. “.
Federal prosecutor Ryan Buchanan had gone further, citing “recent evidence of disgusting cells crawling with insects, rampant violence resulting in death and injury, and excessive use of force by prison officers.”
According to local media, the prison currently has more than 2,500 inmates, more than double its capacity when it opened in 1989. Fifteen died there last year and four since early July.
Fulton County recently reached a $4 million settlement to compensate the family of a homeless inmate with schizophrenia who was found dead in a cell infested with lice and bedbugs.
An autopsy report commissioned by his relatives concluded that the death was caused by “complications due to serious negligence”. The practitioner had noted the undernourishment and dehydration of this 35-year-old prisoner, considering that the proliferation of lice could have caused anemia.
Donald Trump should only pass in a breeze to Fulton prison, and under high protection, thus escaping fleas and violence.
“When the former president turns himself in there will be a strict closure of the area around the Rice Street jail, which means no entry or exit during this time,” the sheriff’s office announced Monday.
23/08/2023 22:59:00 – Atlanta (United States) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
