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Stanford Calls Texas Jail 'Oppressive,' Asks to Move

Published: Monday, 27 Jul 2009 | 12:15 PM ET

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By: Scott Cohn

Accused fraudster Allen Stanford can't stand the heat, and he wants out of the Texas jail where he is being held.

Allen Stanford
AP
Allen Stanford

Stanford, charged with running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme, has been held in a federal detention facility north of Houston since late June, after a federal judge ruled he is a flight risk.

But Stanford's criminal defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin, says in court papers filed Sunday that conditions at the Joe Corley detention facility are "oppressive," and that Stanford should at least be moved to a federal detention center in downtown Houston.

DeGuerin notes that "during the hottest part of the summer, with outside temperatures of 100 degrees or more," Stanford is being held in a facility that was without air conditioning "for at least a week" during a recent power outage.

According to the filing, Stanford is housed in a single cell with as many as ten other men. "There are no windows for light or ventilation and the conditions are intolerable," the filing says.

The filing also notes that Stanford is unable to consult with his attorneys or review evidence at the facility, since most of the evidence is on computer files and the facility does not allow inmates to use computers.