These are trying times for the Vanguard, Keith Alan Raniere. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 27, eleven days from now.
His attorneys plan to file a motion for a mistrial based on the alleged denial of his due process rights – and his followers have issued challenges and will present a podcast on the topic of prosecutorial misconduct as it relates to Raniere’s case.
In monitored phone calls during his incarceration at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), Keith is heard criticizing the judge and the prosecutors. An email he sent from prison was released by the prosecutors wherein he talks about how prosecutors abridged his due process rights.
The judge sentenced his co-defendant Clare Bronfman to triple the sentencing guidelines, largely because she has refused to disavow Raniere. The sentencing guidelines for Raniere suggests up to life in prison. The judge is not friendly to the crimes of which he was convicted. He is likely to sentence Raniere to life in prison.
No matter how this shapes up [most appeals are denied], all of the above will not sit well with the Bureau of Prisons, an agency of the Department of Justice, whose officials determine the prison Keith to which will be assigned.
For these reasons, I suspect Raniere may be assigned to the supermax facility at Florence, Colorado.
One of our commenters describes what life will be like there.
By Spark Pug
I wonder if any of his followers looked into the supermax prison – which is where it looks like Keith will be going. Our supermax here in Colorado is the best of the best.
For his first three years, Keith will have no privileges, no phone calls (except with his attorney), no mail (either sending or receiving), no human contact.
He will eat in his cell, shower in his cell, use the restroom in his cell.
For one hour every day the door on the back of his cell will open. He will be required to walk out into his yard (which is more or less an empty swimming pool).
Guards will bring his meals. The outer door of his cell will open. The guard will leave Keith’s tray on the table. The guard will back away. The outer door will close, the inner door will open. Keith will have 30 seconds to grab his food tray. If he does not, the door will shut automatically and Vanguard will skip that meal.
After Three Years
If he’s a good boy and he follows the rules [I don’t see how he can really break too many rules], after the three years have passed he may be allowed
One (1) 15 minute phone call a month.
He may be able to mail out one (1) letter a month.
He may also be able to receive one (1) letter a month.
If he continues to be good, he can ask for a TV (prison controlled programming) for education and religious programs only.
He may also ask for a radio (again prison controlled programming).
He will not be able to see if anyone is outside dancing for their Vanguard.
The cells have special windows in them so they can only see the sky. The windows let in natural light but prisoners can’t see any roads.
Oh and one other tidbit: The prisoners are only brought out to Colorado’s supermax under the cloak of darkness so they can’t get a lay of the land.
There are so many more super-neat amenities that our supermax offers.
Look it up read all about your Vanguard’s home.
***
The tone of our guest view by Spark Pug is snarky and sarcastic, yet the conditions that prisoners at Florence face could also be construed as horrifying and demonic. Florence supermax is a modern human torture chamber.
I wonder who could survive it and not go insane.
This kind of torture should be abolished in the U.S. And for those who say that Raniere is a demon and deserves this kind of punishment or worse and they are glad he may end up there, I would rebut, how are we any better than him?
You say he tortured women. I agree. But how are we better if we enjoy his torture. It shows we have the same qualities as him.
Life in prison is certainly sufficiently harsh without years of solitary confinement in a small cell without outdoor activity, without social interaction for years. Anyone could go mad under those conditions I do not think the sentence of life incarceration needs to include a deliberate attempt to make a convict insane.
One could argue that he is already insane – and that may be true. But it is not our job to make him worse. If anything, we might try to make him better.
I completely agree with your above remarks, Frank. Especially this: “But it is not our job to make him worse. If anything, we might try to make him better.” If we want more compassion in the world and fewer “Keiths,” the very least we can do is not to become ourselves what we abhor in others.
It will be poetic justice for Vanguard aka Keith, who weaponized the court/legal system for years as a strategy to perpetuate his evil and to intimidate and terrorize whistleblowers and defectors, to be rendered impotent and invisible by being sent to Super Max by the judicial system. He has earned his seat there.
It would be poetic justice for Vanguard, who has weaponized the legal system for years to continue to perpetuate his evil and attack whistleblowers and defectors, to be sent to Super Max thus rendering him completely impotent and invisible.
Vanguard aka Keith is facing his consequence/penance for his behaviors and this facility suits him. He has taught tools to overcome adversity and now he will be forced to step up and use them on the inside.
Execution is a fine solution for Keith Reniere. It’s more humane.
Is that another older cult doctrine, to turn the other cheek? No, it isn’t in any way shape or form “the same thing”. He is there because of his life long mission to exploit and torture others. With zero conscience. He did those things and will do anything to continue to do them. Being pleased that justice is served is not the same as executing those actions he’s convicted of, and those he’s gotten away with.
You do have a lot of empathy for men who commit violence against women, that much is evident.
So you think Raniere deserves the death penalty for the crimes he was convicted of?
It beats spending your life in a Super Max.
The countries which still execute criminals:
CountryTotal executed
(2018)
[60] China1,000+
Iran253+
SaudiArabia149
Vietnam85+
Iraq52+
Egypt43+
UnitedStates25
Japan15
Pakistan14+
Singapore13
Somalia13
South Sudan7+
Belarus4+
Yemen4+
Afghanistan3
Botswana2
Sudan2
Taiwan1
Thailand1
North Korea Unknown
Is that really a desirable list to appear in?
I think not.
Wasn’t the US supposed to be ‘better?’
Only Belarus and Japan are democracies. Interesting fact. Thanks for posting.
Belarus is nominally supposed to be a democracy but, according to credible assessments, after election-rigging, it is obviously nothing but a dictatorship.
I’ll take a stab at it. Yes, I do believe he does deserve death. I say this based on the theory that incarceration exists to reform, to induce repentance. I see no remorse from Raniere. He’s been in jail for how long now? It isn’t working. All he appears to have done the closer judgment arrives for him is to throw more shit at the wall and hope something sticks. Up to and including that interview he did with NBC. His lack of any unidentifiable remorse reminds me of Ted Bundy.
Housing this man-baby for any length of time only accomplishes one thing, and that is to provide jobs for correction officials. Only that saves it from being a waste of money keeping him alive.
The U.S. is known worldwide as the ‘Incarceration nation,’ and appears to be obsessed with crime and punishment. It dominates US culture, from TV to film, to popular novels. It is uniquely violent amongst developed nations.
These days, it seems that if you are a US citizen, you are either in jail, in prison, in some other form of detention, on parole, probation, a criminal, a cop, a ‘correctional officer, a lawyer, a victim or very afraid.
The last is said tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely.
I was born in the US, but no longer even visit. It really has become a hell hole. I used to feel very fond of the U.S. but wouldn’t give up all the rights and safety I enjoy to live there.
Sorry, but that’s the truth.
As regards the Supermax prisons, no other developed nation would even consider building such places. Nor would they need them.
They are a symbol of defeat.
I disagree, there are cases where you also need a Supermax prison. There are also criminals who continue their criminal business from a prison. Or, who are too dangerous for the prison staff, or who are too dangerous for people outside the prison.
“there are cases where you also need a Supermax prison.”
Who is the “you” you are referring to?
I seriously doubt that I would last a week here, but there’s some irony that Vantard will be taken care of and monitored. That’s a far better deal than he gave his prisoners. I cannot by principle, show empathy to a sociopath.
KAR does need to be cut off from the crazy cult followers. Just ask Suneel (aka Isaac with the burner phones). KAR is still calling the shots from behind bars in defiance to the judge. (And he unwisely threatens the judge – this after another judge on the Epstein case watched her son and husband get shot in her own home.)
Time to end this nonsense and unfortunately it has become clear that KAR needs to be isolated or they will continue with their absurd claims and even team up with other criminals to spread misinformation about the cult to try and spring him from prison.
You cut me, Frank you cut me deep What you called snarky and sarcastic, I call direct and to the point. I’m not a journalist, Frank, so I don’t need to sugar coat things. I was simply describing what life is like at the Supermax for the first (3) years and what Keith and his cronies can expect if he is sent there.
Even if the other pimps in there respect his game, that he’s an upper class weird little white guy who is convicted of sex crimes means one thing: he will be turned inside out.
But the good news is, he’ll only feel bad about it if he wants to.
They get TV in due course. I think it is a harsh regime but some people in those places have killed others and the relatives have an even worse regime since their family member is dead forever. (My poor nephews are currently not allowed to leave rooms in college for 14 days – even for any exercise – due to COVID-19! It is worse than for prisoners although they do have wifi and when it is remembered, food)
I don’t know why KR’s followers think it helps to have people doing weird dancing outside his current prison. It just confirms in the minds of the public that the group is a weird cult. It is very counter-productive for him.
Frank, this monumental stance of yours reminds me of my french hero writer Victor Hugo, who was ‘quarantined’ home by his editors to finish a novel (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) when he left his house to head to a place where a mob was threatening to lynch ONE OF HIS WORST ENEMIES. Again: the mob wanted to lynch his enemy, and yet, Victor Hugo climbed on an improvised podium and demobilized the murdering crowd who was actually comprised of confused citizens. KEEP ON KEEPING ON.
Okay, Quasimodo…
Great article. The Super Max prison is inhuman. It’s torture.
I wonder what’s worse, life in the Johnson household or the Super-Max.
In the Super-Max, at least you have a tv and a shower.
Nice Guy, you have figured out how to insult Scott while staying marginally on topic. Congratulations.
It’s impossible for a twerp like NiceGuy 666 too [I did that for you, NiceGuy 666] insult Scott, he’s like a little kids flailing his arms while I have my outstretched hand on his head. LOL
I bet you’d like to have an outstretched hand on my head. Rather disgustedly it’s not the [head] between my shoulders but the head your uncle used to grab in the shower.
Are you implying that Scott was a child abuse victim?
Frank, I am not suggesting Scott was abused. I am suggesting Scott’s uncle helped wash him.
*********
Did Scott not say he wanted to grab my head while my arms flail. What does that mean to you?
I am not sure what Scott meant, but he wants you to appear on his podcast and he was great to me when I appeared.
Just like Bubba in the SuperMax— I
bet you’d like to have an out stretched hand on my head. Rather disgustedly it’s not the [head] between my shoulders but the head your uncle used to grab in the shower like Bubba in the SuperMax.
TV in the Supermax is not a matter of course and you have to earn it through good conduct. And the TV program is very limited in the program selection, probably not to everyone’s taste. And you can quickly lose this privilege again if you misbehave.
The television sets in prison are not the same as the ones you usually have at home. Nobody would buy such a thing.
Genius!!
LOL
Keith Alan Raniere aka Vanguard does not need a shower. He can go out in the rain and does not get wet. Obviously, this also happens in the shower. Therefore he washes himself as little as possible.
Ummmm…didn’t he do this to someone else? Didn’t even let her get medical care? He will get better care in there than she ever did
The Florence SuperMax is designed to minimize and isolate those who have been determined to be a continuing danger to the outside world OR who have demonstrated extremely violent behavior towards staff. Reniere would fall into the former group. He would be isolated from all contact with the outside due to the damage he is willing to inflict as part of his “mission”, This is not unlike the leaders of the Aryan Nation who are held there. They cannot be trusted to act in a moral or responsible manner and will, given any opportunity, use contact with the outside world to try and further their criminal activities. As a result, they must be isolated from contact with the outside world.
However, I would argue that unless they are violent towards staff and other inmates, they should be allowed to socialize amongst themselves. Imagine a conversation between Vanguard, Theodore Kacsynski (the Unabomber), James Marcello (former head of the Chicago Outfit) and Larry Hoover (founder of the Gangster Disciples).What a party!
I thought I read somewhere that one purpose of prison was to rehabilitate. If inmates cannot read or study anything (if no books), or even view educational television (for the early time period), what exactly are they supposed to do with their time?
If I understand the information in this article correctly, this is inhumane.
While if Vanguard goes away I would have no objection to him being cut off from outside communications (enabling him to run his cult), the rest of it seems over-the-top cruel.
The function of prisons in the United States is to punish. This is why some say the USA does not have a justice system so much as it has a punishment system
Punishment is justice. LOL
Raniere doesn’t “deserve” Supermax. LOL
I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve the worst punishment possible, but that the Supermax is meant for hardened, violent criminals, not flaccid soy-boys who can’t even get it up. LOL
—Raniere doesn’t “deserve” Supermax.
If the Salzman sisters fund Raniere, they can corrupt the guards to a greater extent than they already are corrupted and who knows what that would lead to? Plus, if Raniere
is at a max, he will not be able to give orders to his minions. Seriously.
—not flaccid soy-boys who can’t even get it up.
Why exactly does it matter if you can’t get it up when there are no women around? Raniere is heterosexual.
They are supposed to think about their crimes with their time. LOL
I see an opportunity for a win-win-win here. After scaring the bejesus out of Sara Bronfman, Frank can fix things up in such a way that everyone goes away happy.
* Sara can pay a “consulting” fee to Frank of several million dollars. Or perhaps, a tiny island will do.
* After a thorough and exhaustive investigation Frank can announce that the whole prosecution of Raniere was a big mistake because the prosecutors were corrupt.
* Raniere gets out and is happy.
* Frank collects millions and is happy. Everyone will suspect Frank sold out like the prosecutors that Frank previously accused of being dirty, but thats a small price to pay for everyone being happy.
* Taxpayers win because they don’t have to pay the boarding costs of the Raniere.