Get Out of Jail Free

"Dr. Malachi Z. York, naturalized Liberian citizen from the United States, who was granted Liberian diplomatic status by ex-President Charles G. Taylor, is said to be languishing in solitary confinement in a U.S. prison without any medical care accorded him, even though diagnoses show that he is suffering from complicated diseases, "

The article is pretty one-sided, relying heavily on what his lawyer says--and she magnifies every ailment into the worst case, of course. Even though it is his lawyer who says so, I'll accept that he is in solitary. Solitary, by the estimates I've seen, is 3x more expensive than keeping someone in the general prison population. Since York was nailed for "transporting minors across States for the purpose of sexual molestation," I wonder if he's in solitary for his own safety.

Anyhow, the interesting bit is a letter from Charles Taylor dated 1999 appointing York as Consul General of Liberia to Atlanta, and which York was relying on for diplomatic immunity.

There's no evidence of a quid pro quo, but given that this was Liberia under Taylor, I assume York paid for the privilege.

I thought Get Out of Jail Free cards were just a Monopoly invention. I hadn't thought of this angle. Apparently the State Dept. has seen that scam before.