The US Department of Justice has criticized the prison authorities for “serious” errors in their supervision of deceased sex offender Epstein, which enabled his suicide. However, there is no evidence of foul play.
Grave Accusations Against the Prison
Four years after the suicide of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a New York prison cell, the US Department of Justice has leveled serious accusations against the prison authorities and corrections officers. Michael Horowitz, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, stated in a report that staff had made “numerous and serious” errors in supervising the 66-year-old, allowing Epstein to take his own life.
The report states that the incarcerated millionaire was “unattended and alone in his cell” from the evening of August 9, 2019, around 10:40 p.m., until his body was discovered the following morning around 6:30 a.m. It notes that he had an “excessive amount of bedding” in his cell, which poses a security risk – Epstein used the bedding to aid in his suicide.
According to Horowitz, the mandated half-hourly checks were not conducted after 10:40 p.m. Furthermore, Epstein, due to the risk of suicide, should have been sharing his cell with another inmate, but this inmate had been transferred on August 9. Prison staff failed to assign another inmate to Epstein’s cell. The report also highlights issues with video surveillance and fundamental problems such as understaffing in prisons.
Inspector General Confirms FBI Findings
“The mix of negligence, misconduct, and a complete lack of oversight, as documented in this report, contributed to an environment in which one of the most notorious detainees under the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons had the opportunity to take his own life,” wrote the Inspector General. This deprived Epstein’s victims of the chance to obtain justice through the justice system and raised “questions about the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.”
The forensic examination had concluded that the wealthy investor had died by suicide. However, a pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother doubted this finding and suggested that the millionaire had been murdered in his cell. The FBI, following an investigation, concluded that Epstein was not the victim of a crime. The Inspector General of the Department of Justice emphasized that no evidence had emerged during their investigation that contradicted the FBI’s findings. To this day, there are conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death.
Epstein was accused of sexually abusing underage girls and young women, as well as trafficking them for prostitution. The millionaire had already been convicted of sexual crimes in 2008 but only served 13 months in prison as part of a controversial agreement with the prosecution. In August 2019, he was found dead in his New York prison cell after being rearrested. If convicted, he would have faced a lengthy prison sentence.