PANews reported on May 16 that due to some procedures of the criminal justice system, a world-class team of lawyers, and the protection of due process under the Fifth Amendment, former Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng has not been imprisoned despite receiving a four-month sentence. According to the judgment signed by the judge, Zhao Changpeng "should surrender to serve his sentence after being notified by the probation or pretrial services office." These offices have not yet notified Zhao Changpeng which California prison he must enter.
Under federal regulations 18 U.S.C. § 3585(a), an offender’s sentence begins when the person is “taken into custody awaiting transfer or voluntarily delivered to an official detention facility where he or she will serve his or her sentence.” While the sentence may begin immediately on the day of sentencing, there are three possibilities for delays: 1. The judge may force the defendant to first surrender to the U.S. Marshals, who may then escort or later notify the offender when he or she will be jailed. 2. The judge may authorize the probation or pretrial services office to notify the defendant of his or her jail date. 3. The judge may allow the defendant to voluntarily go to jail. Judges usually reserve this option for defendants with the shortest sentences or the least likely to flee. Changpeng Zhao received the second type of sentence. Since he was not sentenced to multiple years in prison, the U.S. Marshals did not take him into custody immediately. Instead, the judge gave Changpeng Zhao the second most lenient path. He waited for notification from the probation or pretrial services office.
By law, prison authorities must consider the following before assigning an offender to a prison: the proposed facility resources, the nature and circumstances of the crime, the offender's history and characteristics, any appropriate type of facility recommended by the court at the time of sentencing, and any relevant policy statements issued by the United States Sentencing Commission. If the prison administration does not complete this analysis, the offender's attorney can appeal to the court to reduce the sentence on due process grounds. In short, the ultimate reason why Changpeng Zhao has not yet been imprisoned is that the United States Constitution guarantees due process.
To be clear, Zhao will be in prison when notified by the Bureau of Prisons’ Office of Probation or Pretrial Services, which has been conducting a statutory review of the suitability of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Federal Detention Center and Jail (Seatac) for Zhao’s individual circumstances to avoid any legal remedy for failure to provide constitutional due process.