Even though his conviction for fraud and obstruction of justice is still under appeal, destiny is calling for Conrad Black.
The iconic Canadian publisher, British Lord and now soon to be convict has until 2 pm on Monday Florida time, to report to the Coleman Federal Correction Complex. A place that could very well be his home for the next 6 and a half years.
Black's lawyers expressed surprise and disappointment last week at the developments that the one time Baron of Canada's presses has to report before his appeal is heard. That appeal isn't expected to take place until at least June, meaning that Lord Black will have been a guest of the US Justice Department for at least three months, before he finds out if his appeal to overturn his conviction is a success.
His new digs will be significantly different from what he has become accustomed to over the last half century, a double barbed wire fence, common washroom and bathing areas and a shared cubicle measuring eight by nine feet are some of the features of the spartan living conditions that Black will soon become intimately involved with.
As he prepares for his incarceration, there doesn't appear to be much trepidation about his pending jailing.
Mr. Black has said that the only thing he fears from prison life is that he may become bored, which indicates if nothing else that spending a lot of time watching films about prison life hasn't been a pre-occupation of Lord Blacks. No Midnight Express nor Oz for Mr. Black if he had decided to research what his immediate future may bring.
At sixty three, he'll be closing in on his seventies when freedoms gates swing open once again, leaving him older, wiser and with any luck free of boredom's grip.
There's the possibility that his travails may result in a companion piece for his previous autobiographical work, A Life in Progress.
We suggest the possible working title for any subsequent reminiscence could be "A Man of our Times", or on second thought maybe "A Man serving Time" might be more appropriate.
Canwest News--Black heads to prison asserting his innocence
National Post--Palm Beach feels free to kick Conrad Black while he's down
National Post--A glimpse of Black's prison life
Ottawa Sun--Inmate number 18330-424
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Photo from the National Post's Financial Post Website
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