Hacker News Reader

Comment by boomboomsubban | Hacker News Reader

The United Nations has criticized the US for it's treatment of prisoners in the past, the US just ignores them. It is worth noting that the two million incarcerated are serving sentences for crimes they were convicted of, making it marginally less horrible than Assange's situation.

View on HN

Assange's living conditions were entirely self inflicted. He could have surrendered himself to the Swedish authorities, undergone a trial and had he served time would have spent time in a prison system known for its humane treatment and low recidivism rates: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/26/prison-swede...

I am of course assuming that he wouldn't be extradited to the US, in which case not surrendering was the correct choice.

He also had/has significant mental issues before the matter began.

>I am of course assuming that he wouldn't be extradited to the US,

How can you make this assumption given that he was extradited for the exact reasons he mentioned?

When was he extradited?

His extradition has been requested, I should have made that clearer.

Seems like if that request is denied then he’ll have confined himself to the embassy for nothing.

Except this whole subthread started over a remark that what he went through wasn't as bad as how the US treats people in its jails.

Which was still bad enough to deserve a written condemnation from the UN.

The US simply ignores all these reports by various international oversight organisations such as the UN, or the ICC (there are strictly per definition no war criminals among US citizens isn't that great).

So yeah, ending up there, especially after you pissed them off, is something to be avoided at all costs.

Doesn't mean that someone is deserving of any and all treatment that is strictly "not as bad" (because that's a pretty friggin low bar).

Not necessarily. If the UK refuses the request, they likely would have accepted the request from Sweden, and Sweden may have then turned him over to the US.

The OP is about how Sweden has dropped it’s request.

So? For most of his confinement, Sweden was prepared to extradite him, meaning the confinement wasn't for nothing even if the UK refuses the request.

I am not making that assumption, only pointing out that my argument hinges on that being the case and concede that if he does get extradited it was smarter from his perspective to be a fugitive.

There are plenty of arrested, but not convicted, prisoners in city and county jails in the US. Often for months or longer.

Yes, but not the two million mentioned.

It looks like aprox. 500,000 according to this article from 2016: https://www.thenation.com/article/almost-half-a-million-peop...

It's close to 500k on an average day. https://www.americasquarterly.org/aborn-prisons

Progress is being made with the elimination of cash bail in some places, and Trump's First Step Act.

At first glance, First Step looks like progress. But, it seems to only apply to Federal inmates, which is only 10% (or less) of the prison population.

So, 10% is not progress?

It's progress. I wasn't sure that everyone knew it applied only to Federal prisoners. Thought that was worth sharing.

To point made above, yes, it's just Federal, but the Federal stance on this could influence states to follow suit, especially since it had bipartisan support...a precious commodity in public policy these days.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com