U.S. 'supermax' prison: 'Alcatraz of the Rockies' is seen as 'inhuman and degrading'

[n2doc]

U.S. prosecutors want Ali Charaf Damache in the worst way.

An Irish resident originally from Algiers, Damache, 50, is accused of using online chat rooms to recruit American women into a would-be terrorist cell operating in this country and Europe.

One man and two women, including Damache's wife, have already been convicted in U.S. courts of providing material support to terrorists. And Damache was captured by Irish authorities in 2010 in Dublin on a separate charge of making a telephone death threat and held without bail.

But despite requests from U.S. prosecutors to have him extradited to this country for trial in Philadelphia, the High Court of Ireland has refused.

It's not because they want to prosecute him themselves or believe he is innocent. Rather, the Irish court ruled that Damache, if sent to the United States, would probably be locked up in the federal "supermax" prison. And to the court, that amounted to "cruel and unusual" punishment.

more

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-extradite-supermax-20150809-story.html#page=1

[DJ13]

1. One of Nephews got caught up in Ca's 3 Strikes law

None of the three crimes were violent, the worst was writing some bad checks.

Anyway, due to the over crowding in the prison system here he spent the last 3 1/2 years in Pelican Bay, the most Supermax prison in the state.

Gov. Brown released non violent offenders a year + back to comply with Federal regulations on prison crowding, so thankfully he got released.

Can you imagine being thrown into a Supermax, with the 23 hr per day solitary confinement, among the most serious murderers in the state just for writing checks?

[elias49]

2. That's outrageous!

I hope he came out relatively 'unbroken'..3 strikes is unjustifiable IMO.

[DJ13]

3. He became a lot more thoughtful of people and his own actions after he was released

[harrose]

4. Except that....

... you don't get thrown into the Florence Supermax (which is what the OP is talking about) for writing bad checks. If you end up there, then you've been convicted of really, really, really bad stuff.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, n2doc.

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R

[davidn3600]

7. I wouldnt be surprised if more countries bagan to deny extradition requests on these grounds