Wendell Brown, a former player at Ball State University, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison in China. He was involved in a bar fight, arrested, and tried in a Chinese court on various charges stemming with his encounter with locals at a bar. His lawyers, court appointed, defended him, but the judge handed down the 4 year sentence. He has been held in a temporary detention center in a cell with approximately 20 other detainees/prisoners. The conditions of his detention border on cruel and unusual. There are no beds provided for any of the prisoners in the cell. They have bamboo mats of some type. There's not much room for all prisoners to bed down at night. There's no heat; some type of jackets are provided at night fall. Half of the space is open to the outside environment. Depending on your position in the cell when the sun goes down, determines your resting place for the night.
Mr. Brown lost his appeal for a reduction in the sentence. He has served over two years already. He remains positive about his situation and is resolved to endure his plight as best he can. It is a sad state of affairs as his family is unable to visit for financial reasons. After the judge's decision recently, he was allowed a conversation with his Mother and other family. US media outlets have reported on his situation, but have not kept up with recent developments. There appears to be a certain amount of racism in evidence concerning those who filed the charges against him. Apparently, locals are not fond of American sportsmen who maintain a local residence. Mr. Brown mentions this situation as aggravating and uncomfortable. Sadly, in light of how the Chinese Government treat their own citizens, such treatment of outsiders is not difficult to understand. (See Uighurs Detention).
Hopefully, the US Government will stay on the case and assist Mr. Brown and his family as much as possible. His case underscores the precarious conditions in China as they relate to all foreigners.
A word to the wise.
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