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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer is speaking out after the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn put the music mogul on suicide watch.
Marc Agnifilo tells TMZ that Combs is “not at all suicidal” and that the directive was routine for “new, high-profile inmates.”
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The attorney said he spent six hours with Diddy on Thursday and found him to be “strong, healthy, confident, and focused on his defense.”
Diddy is expected to be behind bars until he goes to trial for racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Diddy entered a not guilty plea in court Tuesday.
Combs’ team has been fighting for his release from jail, but was denied by two different judges.
MDC Brooklyn is New York’s only federal jail. Notorious figures including R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell have been detained there in the past.
The facility has a negative reputation, and TMZ reports Agnifilo has asked to have Diddy transferred to Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, New Jersey.
NPR laid out some of the issues with the facility, reporting, “Detainees have long complained about rampant violence, dreadful conditions, severe staffing shortages, and the widespread smuggling of drugs and other contraband, some of it facilitated by employees. At the same time, they say they’ve been subject to frequent lockdowns and have been barred from leaving their cells for visits, calls, showers, or exercise.”
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The federal Bureau of Prisons told the outlet, “We also take seriously addressing the staffing and other challenges at MDC Brooklyn.” The agency plans to add more permanent staff and address a staggering 700 backlogged maintenance request.