Blog, Dr. Marc Blatstein Blog, Medical, Preparation, Sentence Mitigation

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED: THE NARRATIVE IS BEST DELIVERED BY THE DEFENDANT

ADHD, ANHEDONIA, OR OTHER ISSUES COULD HAVE BEEN EVALUATED AS OPTIONS IN EARLIER MEETINGS WITH SBF; JUST A THOUGHT: I’M NOT AN ATTORNEY…

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LAWYERS ARE TO PROVIDE HONEST AND POSSIBLY DIFFICULT TRUTHS

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HOWEVER, WRITING SBF’S NARRATIVE INTO THEIR MEMORANDUM FELL ON DEAF EARS. 

Judges want to learn why the person broke the law. They already know that,

  • The DOJ wants a Conviction.

  • The Prosecutor wants Prison time to protect society.

  • Your attorney is paid to say nice things about you and keep you out of jail.

  • The Personal Narrative is expected to be from the defendant (SBF). Yes, it’s a challenge, but coming from counsel may not be effective. 

The one person the Judge knew nothing about is the defendant, other than what they read in the four corners of the Indictment. If you aren’t comfortable with that, you need to challenge that by writing your own story. Call it your autobiography or Narrative, but your life’s history from childhood until today: the good, the bad, and the ugly. What happened? 

The Sentencing Memorandum was excellent, including that SBF was “not a ruthless financial serial killer” but rather an “awkward math nerd”…otherwise, I believe, falls short. Most of it may have been more helpful had it been first person from SBF.

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In Prison: Don’t get in trouble, and here SBF needs Guidance, Before He’s Incarcerated.

  • Good Time Credit knocks off 54 days for each year upfront.
  • After approximately two years (plus or minus) of taking FSA Programs, the First Step Act (FSA) could knock another year off.

Then, the additional Earned Time Credits earned, together with the Second Chance Act,

  • Additional Earned Time Credits, together with the Second Chance Act, could provide more time in a Halfway House and Home Confinement.
  • RDAP or the Residential Drug Program, if eligible, could knock off another year.

Judges already know,

  1. The DOJ wants a conviction.
  2. The Prosecutor wants jail time because he represents everything wrong in society and needs to be stopped. [“The criminality here, it’s massive in scale,” prosecutor Nicolas Roos said Thursday when interviewed by the Washington Post. “It was pervasive in all aspects.”]
  3. The Attorney is paid to keep their clients out of prison (i.e., a great Memorandum).
  4. But the defendant is the one person a judge wants to understand. A Personal NARRATIVE could help the Judge by speaking with them (Allocution) or at least reading their Narrative or Character Letters or watching a video or PowerPoint presentation, even if the person was incapable of having a conversation (Allocution)due to a disability.
  5. A social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist, or someone close to SBF could possibly have helped him develop his own story, autobiography, or narrative.

Therefore, in the end, the judge views the memorandum (below) as counsel just doing their job.

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His Sentencing Memorandum is not a substitute for helping a judge understand how and why SBF committed the crime—in his own words.

MY TAKE: Counsel advocates for SBF, which doesn’t help the Judge. For example;

Page 9 of 98

  • Those who know Sam see someone who “cares deeply about other people.”
  • Those who know Sam know he is selfless,
  • “[A]s an intern at Jane Street Capital, [he] gave the majority(!) of his earnings to charity.”
  • Those who know Sam see that his philanthropic commitment runs deeper than money:

Page 10 of 98

Page 11 of 98

  • Those who know Sam are sensitive to the tragic fact that nothing brings him real happiness. Sam suffers from anhedonia,...
  • Those who know Sam also know how deeply, deeply sorry he is for the pain he caused over the last two years. Also, he believes there is nothing he will ever be able to do to  “‘make [his] lifetime impact net positive,’
  • Those who know Sam can testify that his sole focus after FTX collapsed was making customers whole…

Page 12 of 98

  • Those who know Sam know he was vindicated in January 2024, when the FTX bankruptcy estate announced that it could “cautiously predict” precisely what Sam had been saying since November 2022: customers and general unsecured creditors with allowed claims will eventually be paid in full…
  • Those who know Sam appreciate that he “is an exceptionally brilliant 31-year-old who can still have a significant, positive impact on this world…
  • Those who know Sam are blunt: the most productive years of his life should not be wasted in prison.

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However, Judge Kaplan’s feelings regarding SBF might not have been as harsh had there been Characted Letters or a NARRATIVE in written video or PowerPoint format. As this didn’t happen,

In the end, Judge Kaplan noted that Bankman-Fried never offered a “word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes” during the trial or at the sentencing hearing.

Judge Kaplan’s impression of SBF,

With more to follow, should you have any questions, are interested in engaging my services, or have any suggestions for future topics, I am easy to reach 📞, and thank you for your time.

Marc, Dr. Blatstein

Humanizing Your Client Through Their Personal Narrative, Release Plan, and Allocution