Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is living inside a notorious prison with a disturbing history – a far cry from his luxury Beverly Hills mansion.
Diddy – who faces 100 allegations of sexual abuse (a combination of criminal and civil suits), is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York while he awaits trial. The 54-year-old was denied bail after being arrested last month on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied all charges, while his legal representative has slammed the accusations he faces as ‘meritless allegations’.
For now, Diddy waits behind the bars of MDC, a federal jail where former high-profile inmates have included the likes of R Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) has been dubbed ‘hell on earth’ (
AFP via Getty Images)
BBC News reports that, back in August, US District Judge Gary J Brown, decided against sending a defendant in a tax fraud case to MDC, as he was troubled by the ‘dangerous, barbaric conditions that have existed for some time’ at the infamous facility.
Describing the prison as a place where ‘chaos reigns, along with uncontrolled violence’, Judge Brown remarked that a number of fellow judges had also been reluctant to send defendants there due to the reportedly shocking and dangerous conditions.
Pointing toward one particularly harrowing incident, Judge Brown told the story of one prisoner who – after being stabbed multiple times – was reportedly denied medical treatment and was instead locked up in his cell for 25 agonising days. Judge Brown said: “Allegations of inadequate supervision, unbridled assaults, and lack of sufficient medical care are supported by an increasing body of evidence, with certain instances that are irrefutable.”
Back in June 2020, inmate Jamel Floyd died after he was pepper sprayed by officers, while in July of this year, 36-year-old MDC inmate Edwin Cordero died after being injured in a fight. Describing the prison as a ‘scary place to be’, Edwin’s lawyer Andrew Dalack told the BBC : “It should not be the case that while your life is on the line and your liberty is on the line, that you have to be completely stripped of your humanity. MDC Brooklyn has a way of really breaking people down, and making them feel less than human.”
The prison has a dark history of violence and corruption (
AFP via Getty Images)
The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which manages the facility, told the broadcaster that it ‘takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody, as well as maintain the safety of correctional employees and the community’.
Based in an industrial area on Brooklyn’s waterfront, MDC has around 1,200 inmates – down from over 1,600 in January – and is mostly used for post-arrest detention for those awaiting trial in the federal courts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Other prisoners will be serving short sentences following their convictions.
As per Time magazine, at least four individuals detained at MDC Brooklyn have died by suicide in the last three years, while at least six MDC staff members have been charged with crimes in the last five years alone, with charges including accepting bribes or providing contraband.
Described as ‘hell on earth’ by lawyer Dalack in another interview with The New York Times, the facility first opened back in the early ’90s and has come under scrutiny on a number of occasions. Notable problems include overcrowding and staff shortages, with court filings from November 2023 finding that the prison was operating at just 55 per cent of full staffing levels.
In one disturbing incident in January 2019, federal watchdogs expressed concern after a week-long power failure led to unrest among ‘frantic’ inmates. Speaking with The New York Times at the time, the president of the local chapter of the union, Anthony Sanon, said: “We didn’t have heat in the building, we didn’t have light. The weather was actually unbearable.”
In a lawsuit brought against the federal government and jail officials, as per Reuters, plaintiffs claimed that inmates were subjected to ‘inhumane conditions that posed unreasonable and substantial risks to their health and safety’, and didn’t receive hot food or suitable clothing for the freezing temperatures.
It’s been reported that Diddy’s wealth won’t earn him any ‘special treatment’ (
WireImage)
Diddy denies the charges he faces (
WireImage)