Looks like America will need to come up with another way of finding a COVID-19 vaccine: a federal judge has denied Martin Shkreli’s request for an early release from prison.
Last month, Shkreli petitioned the court for an early release, saying that he had “been conducting significant research into developing molecules to inhibit the coronavirus.”
“Mr. Shkreli has spent countless hours while incarcerated researching disease treatments and possible cures for COVID-19,” his lawyers wrote in a formal request. “His current project has been well received. One company is prepared to begin working on clinical trials of Mr. Shkreli’s work within weeks.”
The judge wasn’t buying it, however. TMZ reports that the judge dismissed the pharmadouche’s claims as yet another example of the “delusional self-aggrandizing behavior” that landed him in federal prison in the first place. In their decision to deny Shkreli’s early release, the judge also cited the minimal cases of COVID-19 at Shkreli’s prison, as well as his lack of a pre-exisiting condition that might make him more susceptible to the virus.
Shkreli, who made waves in the music blogosphere after spending $2 million to acquire the lone copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, is currently serving seven years in prison after being convicted of securities fraud in 2018.
