Roger Stone Tells Courts He Fears "Certain” Death In Prison, Asks For Mercy
Sarah Shaiman
Former Trump advisor Roger Stone is asking to delay his 40-month prison sentence by over two months citing coronavirus fears, according to a Politico report.
- Stone is set to serve his sentence in less than two weeks for seeking to “stymie a congressional investigation” during the Russiagate scandal in 2016.
- Stone has taken to Instagram to plead for his life. He feels that he would be facing a death sentence if forced to endure prison during the pandemic.
“I’m fighting for my life,” Stone warned in one video Tuesday, wearing a face mask emblazoned with the words “Free Roger Stone!.” In the social media messages, Stone says he is 67 years old, suffers from asthma and has a history of respiratory problems.
He continued, “Incarceration at a facility with COVID-19 during a pandemic is a deep state death sentence. Roger Stone did nothing wrong. Justice for Roger Stone.”
Stone claims that his request to delay surrender was rejected, but that is not true.
“The defense contacted the United States Attorney’s Office to ascertain its position on this motion, and was informed that, based on the Department of Justice’s and the Executive Office of United States Attorneys’ guidance on the handling of voluntary surrender dates during the pandemic at this point in time, it does not oppose a 60-day extension of Stone’s surrender date,” the prosecutors wrote.
- However, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson directed prosecutors in a brief order on Tuesday “to file something ‘in writing’ by Thursday explaining the reasons for their stance.”
Stone is currently pursuing all legal options to thwart jail time, while complaining in videos that many Trump adversaries and those who cooperated with the Mueller probe have been released due to Covid-19. However, Stone indicated he may ask the president to commute or pardon his sentence if all other efforts fail.
