Misconduct and mismanagement led to Jeffrey Epstein’s death, says US watchdog
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Washington: Staff at the US prison where accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was held committed significant misconduct that contributed to his death, from falsifying reports and failing to fix faulty security cameras, to allowing him to stockpile dangerous items.
Four years after the disgraced financier was found dead with a bedsheet tied around his neck, a damning probe by the Justice Department’s own watchdog has concluded that a litany of negligence was largely to blame “and effectively deprived Epstein’s numerous victims of the opportunity to seek justice.”
The jail cell of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The 128-page report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz found staff failed to ensure Epstein was assigned a cellmate, despite being instructed to do so by the prison’s New York psychology department following an earlier incident a few weeks before his death, where he was discovered unresponsive in his cell with a cloth wrapped around his neck.
They also failed to ensure that the prison’s security cameras were fully functional, resulting in limited recorded video evidence, and failed to conduct the required prisoner counts or cell checks.
As such, Epstein was able to hoard extra linens, blankets, linens, and clothing – some of which he used to make a noose – and was eventually found dead on August 10, 2019. When officers discovered him dangling from his bed, one of them noted: “We’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”
“Had Epstein’s cell been searched as required, it would have revealed that Epstein had excess prison blankets, linens and clothing in itself,” said Horowitz.
An exterior view of the Metropolitan Correctional Centre jail where Jeffrey Epstein was found dead.Credit: Reuters
“The combination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures documented in today’s report all contributed to an environment in which arguably one of the most notorious inmates in the BOP’s (Bureau of Prisons) custody was left unmonitored and alone in his cell with an excess of prison linens, thereby providing him with the opportunity to take his own life.”
Epstein died while he was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking and abusing young girls. If convicted, the 66-year-old would have faced up to 45 years in prison. His longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
The sex-trafficking case attracted widespread attention, partly because of the depravity of the allegations against him as well as his connections to high-profile figures including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth’s son Prince Andrew.
It was also reported last month that he tried to blackmail Microsoft founder Bill Gates over an extramarital affair with a Russian bridge player.
After his death, countless conspiracy theories emerged suggesting he may have been killed due to the secrets he likely had on some of the most powerful people in the world. However, the Inspector General today backed up the FBI’s earlier determination that he died by suicide.
A piece of fabric used as a noose is displayed, as part of the investigation into Epstein’s death.
Nonetheless, Horowitz found that the concerns raised in the report were not just the result of longstanding problems at the now-defunct Manhattan jail where Epstein was held, but right across the system run by the federal Bureau of Prisons, which operates 122 jails in the US.
“These included significant job performance and management failures on the part of BOP personnel, and widespread disregard of BOP policies and deficiencies with the BOP staffing levels, security camera systems, and custody and care of inmates at risk for suicide,” he said.
Members of staff also allegedly misled the Inspector General as he conducted the investigation. One supervisor, for instance, claimed she didn’t know Epstein was meant to have a cellmate even though she was on an email directing staff to provide him with one.
“We further found that multiple employees submitted false documents claiming that they had performed the required counts and rounds,” the report said.
Horowitz referred two supervisors for criminal prosecution by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York after they were caught falsifying records and lying to investigators. However, prosecutors declined to bring charges.
US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who is also the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the report made clear that Epstein’s death “was not due to a grand conspiracy, but BOP’s incompetence and neglect.” He added the committee would conduct an oversight hearing into the problems surrounding the federal prison bureau in coming months.
Beyondblue, 1300 224 636; Lifeline, 13 11 14; Headspace (for those aged 12-25), 1800 650 890; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
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