| Everything We Know About Jeffrey Epstein's Death |
| Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=51371"><span class="small">Chas Danner and Margaret Hartmann, New York Magazine</span></a> |
| Monday, 12 August 2019 08:36 |
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Excerpt: "The 66-year-old's death came less than a day after a trove of disturbing court documents was made public offering details about his alleged abuse of dozens of mostly underage girls, as well who assisted him with or participated in the abuse."
Everything We Know About Jeffrey Epstein's Death12 August 19
While conspiracy theories have ran amok in the aftermath of Epstein’s death, new details emerged on Sunday indicating that Epstein’s death may have come as a result of multiple failures on the part of the MCC and its staff. Below is everything we know so far. The details of his death According to NBC News, Epstein hanged himself at some point overnight Friday in his cell and was taken to a local hospital from the MCC on Saturday morning. Per the Department of Justice’s official statement: On Saturday, August 10, 2019, at approximately 6:30 a.m., inmate Jeffrey Edward Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell in the Special Housing Unit from an apparent suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York, New York. Life-saving measures were initiated immediately by responding staff. Staff requested emergency medical services (EMS) and life-saving efforts continued. Mr. Epstein was transported by EMS to a local hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries, and subsequently pronounced dead by hospital staff. The FBI is investigating the incident. On Sunday evening, New York Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson announced that she had completed an autopsy of Epstein, under the observation of a private pathologist, but she needed more information before she could officially determine his cause of death (which is not abnormal):
Epstein had been taken off suicide watch, then left alone and under-monitored Three weeks before his death, on July 23, Epstein had been found semiconscious in his cell with marks on his neck — though it was not clear if he had tried to harm himself or had been attacked. Prison officials investigated the injury as a possible suicide attempt and put Epstein on suicide watch, which would entail placing him in a special cell where he could be constantly monitored by prison personnel and prevented from having access to any means by which he could take his own life. Epstein was also subject to a daily psychiatric evaluation during this time, according to the New York Times. But Epstein was taken off of suicide watch on July 29 and returned to the MCC’s special housing unit after a psychiatric evaluation determined he was no longer at risk of harming himself. It is not yet clear who made that evaluation and (clearly incorrect) judgment. In addition, it appears that MCC personnel failed to follow proper procedures following Epstein’s removal from suicide watch, procedures that MCC officials had apparently assured Justice Department personnel they would follow. The New York Times reported on Sunday that it is standard practice at the facility for inmates who have been on suicide watch to then be housed with other inmates. Epstein was placed in a cell with another inmate at first, but that inmate was later transferred out of the special housing unit, leaving Epstein alone in the cell, which reportedly had a metal door and a small glass window. It is not clear why Epstein was not immediately assigned another cellmate. In addition, MCC guards are supposed to check on inmates in the special housing unit every 30 minutes, but reportedly failed to do so on Friday night. It is not yet confirmed how that was allowed to happen either.
MCC’s failures may be linked to staffing shortage, overworked employees A prison official who spoke with the Times said that the two guards who were on duty on Friday night were both working overtime, and one was working his fifth consecutive overtime shift. According to Serene Gregg, the president of the union that represents the MCC’s employees, the two guards do not normally work as correctional officers, though they were trained to do so. She told the Washington Post that many of the jail’s employees have been working mandatory overtime, including 60 to 70-hour workweeks, thanks to the MCC having less than 70 percent of the correctional officers it should have. There had also been unconfirmed rumors that Epstein’s earlier injury had been the result of an attack, but he was reportedly found dead alone in his cell on Saturday morning. The earlier possible suicide attempt, and what other inmates noticed about Epstein the Daily Beast reported regarding the earlier possible suicide attempt and Epstein’s behavior in jail: Epstein had initially been held in general population at MCC, where he’d been targeted for extortion as a wealthy pedophile, a source with knowledge of his circumstances told The Daily Beast, describing Epstein’s injuries from his prior alleged suicide attempt as small abrasions around his neck. … The Beast’s source said that Epstein “lived like a pig in a sty” after his first attempted suicide, eating meals off the floor and making frequent requests for toilet paper. There is apparently no video footage of what happened The New York Post reported on Sunday that no surveillance video exists of Epstein’s death. According to the Post’s sources, there are indeed video cameras in the section of the MCC where Epstein was housed on Friday night, but none target the inside or outside of the cells there. Epstein’s death being investigated by the FBI, Justice Department, and New York Medical Examiner’s Office The Department of Justice announced on Saturday that the FBI had opened an investigation into the circumstances of Epstein’s death — meaning that the FBI is looking to see whether or not a crime was committed. Attorney General William Barr additionally announced that the Justice Department’s inspector general would be conducting an investigation. Barr said he was “appalled to learn” that Epstein had taken his own life while in federal custody and that the incident “raises serious questions that must be answered.” Meanwhile, the New York Medical Examiner’s office investigated Epstein’s cause of death over the weekend, and had been expected to release the results on Epstein’s autopsy on Sunday, but instead announced that the medical examiner needed more information before making an official determination. (This is not unusual.) It seems likely that there will also be some congressional inquiries into the matter. The investigation into Epstein and his crimes will continue One major concern following Epstein’s death is the fate of the investigation into his abuse of countless underage girls, as well as the potential consequences for his accomplices. Federal prosecutors said on Saturday that the investigation will continue, but how that shapes up remains to be seen. According to former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, the criminal case against Epstein dies with him: Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide ends the criminal case against him because no one else was charged in the indictment. … [It] means that there won’t be a public trial or other proceedings that could reveal evidence of his wrongdoing. Evidence collected via grand jury subpoena won’t be released to the public. It’s still likely that the public will learn additional information from civil cases by victims against his estate or non-criminal investigations (for example, the DOJ OIG investigation). Saturday on the Cut, Matthew Schneier pointed out that Epstein’s death still meant that “thousands of questions may never have satisfactory answers, and focus is likely to intensify on his collaborators, co-conspirators, enablers, and friends.” Schneier then highlighted what a trove of newly unsealed court documents says about Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s best friend and alleged accomplice. Epstein’s associates may now receive the full brunt of prosecutors’ attention, according to the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown:
The SDNY ultimately confirmed as much on Saturday:
But the result of that process is hard to predict, former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade added in an interview with Intelligencer: It may be that never pans out into any charges, for lots of reasons: A lack of evidence, evidence that’s unavailable because you needed Epstein. So it could be that we never hear anything more about it. But I think they’ll continue to investigate, and if they find evidence of a crime, that will become publicly known. The response from Epstein’s victims The Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown passed along some reactions from Epstein’s stunned victims: Jena-Lisa Jones, who was molested by him when she was 14, said that Epstein took the coward’s way out. “I just can’t believe it, we were finally feeling that we might have some justice after all these years,’’ she said, her voice cracking. Added Jack Scarola, an attorney representing several of Epstein’s victims: It is inexplicable how such a high-profile person on suicide watch could commit suicide without help. … Epstein once again cheated his victims out of an opportunity for justice. While I’m sure none of them regret his death, all of them regret the information that died with him. The one expectation is that Epstein’s death not derail the investigation into others who participated in his criminal activities. There are named and unnamed co-conspirators who still need to be brought to justice. Roberta Kaplan, who represents one of Epstein’s then-underage victims, said over the weekend that Epstein’s demise was “not only emotionally devastating but a real emotional roller coaster.”
The inevitable suspicion and speculation Considering Epstein’s extensive links to the rich and powerful — including presidents Trump and Clinton — Epstein’s death by post-suicide-watch suicide quickly led to suspicion and conspiracy theories from across the political spectrum. (Read our roundup of the top theories here.) As tech and media commentator Charlie Warzel noted on Sunday, Epstein’s death is “in many ways, the post-truth nightmare scenario”: The sordid story contains almost all the hallmarks of stereotypical conspiratorial fodder: child sex trafficking, powerful global political leaders, shadowy private jet flights, billionaires whose wealth cannot be explained. As a tale of corruption, it is so deeply intertwined with our current cultural and political rot that it feels, at times, almost too on-the-nose. The Epstein saga provides ammunition for everyone, leading one researcher to refer to Saturday’s news as the “Disinformation World Cup.” Trump and allies push anti-Clinton conspiracy theory Soon after the news broke, controversial Trump administration personality (and regional HUD director) Lynne Patton wrote on Instagram that Epstein had been “Hillary-d” — an attempt to promote a longstanding right-wing conspiracy theory falsely alleging that Bill and Hillary Clinton were responsible for the death of former White House lawyer Vince Foster.
Patton specifically referenced Foster, tagging the tabloid news post she shared about Epstein’s death “#VinceFosterPartTwo.” She wasn’t the only one trying to connect Epstein’s death to the Clintons. Fox Business host Lou Dobbs tweeted a reference too, and #clintonbodycount began trending on Twitter on Saturday morning — a reference to a debunked conspiracy meme suggesting the Clintons had ordered dozens of people killed. Later, #trumpbodycount started trending in response, but it’s important to remember that both efforts may have been boosted by trollbots, and much of the conspiracy-minded response was based on the reportedly mistaken notion that Epstein died while on suicide watch. By the early evening, the trending theory had attracted the attention-obsessed president of the United States, who himself retweeted two tweets linking the Clintons to Epstein and his death. A senior White House official told Axios: “I think we’re beyond the point of trying to control these things.” The non-Trump political response
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have been expressing their alarm over what happened. Senator Ben Sasse, the Nebraska Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Saturday that it was “inexcusable that this rapist was not under constant suicide watch,” and that by letting Epstein take his own life, the federal government had failed Epstein’s victims for the second time. “Obviously, heads must roll,” Sasse added in a letter to Attorney General William Barr: Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him. … It should have been abundantly clear that Epstein would go to any lengths to avoid being held accountable for his crimes, including by killing himself. Being responsible for Epstein’s custody and prosecution, the Department of Justice should not have allowed this to happen. Sasse hasn’t said anything about the Senate Judiciary Committee investigating the matter yet. California Democrat Ted Lieu, meanwhile, has called for the House Judiciary Committee to launch an inquiry in Epstein’s death. Epstein’s finances, and the fate of his fortune Another recurring question in light of Epstein’s demise is what will happen to his alleged fortune. Federal prosecutors have estimated Epstein’s wealth at over $500 million, but it still remains a mystery how much he really had — or how he earned it.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that two of the banks that did business with the shady financier, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, have been going through their records in order to determine what he used his accounts for. Deutsche Bank has already been sharing its Epstein records with authorities, while JPMorgan anticipates being asked to do the same. Lisa Bloom, who is representing some of Epstein’s victims, said on Sunday that she intends to sue Epstein’s estate on behalf of two clients. It is also possible that the SDNY could try to seize Epstein’s assets with a civil-forfeiture action.
Highlighting an epidemic
Reform advocates, academics, and others who are familiar with the prevalence of inadequate mental health care in America’s jails and prisons seem to be the least surprised by Epstein’s death by suicide. The Miami Herald spoke with criminal justice professor Christine Tartaro, who has written a book about the issue of suicide behind bars. She explained that inmates often harm themselves at pretrial facilities (jails), where suicide is the leading cause of death. She said that Epstein being put on, and then taken off, suicide watch is not uncommon — nor is an inmate relapsing back into suicidal behavior afterward. “The point of suicide watch is to get them through the initial suicide crisis, and then to work on helping the inmate navigate the correctional environment without attempting suicide,” she explained, adding, “There are situations in which the inmate will feel better, and then regress and become suicidal again.” The Human Rights Defense Center’s Deborah Golden told the Herald that the Bureau of Prisons, which runs federal facilities like the MCC, is known for providing inadequate mental health care and not employing enough psychiatrists. “They do a bad job at suicide prevention,” the reform advocate insisted, noting that suicide watch in federal facilities is typically more like special punishment than an intervention. Inmate suicide expert Lindsay M. Hayes added that the punitive nature of suicide watch, which is highly restrictive and difficult to endure for inmates, leads many of them to fake feeling better when speaking with their evaluators. In addition, Hayes explained, assessing the suicide risk of inmates is a difficult process, and may have been even more challenging with an atypical inmate like Epstein.
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| Last Updated on Monday, 12 August 2019 08:47 |
effrey Epstein, the millionaire financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead by suicide in his jail cell on Saturday morning. Epstein was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. The 66-year-old’s death came less than a day after a 