A watchdog from the U.S. Justice Department has determined that a combination of negligence and inappropriate behavior by guards allowed Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced pedophile, to die by suicide while in custody and awaiting trial. Inspector General Michael Horowitz stated on Tuesday that the federal Bureau of Prisons was responsible for the incident due to their failure to assign Epstein a cellmate after his previous one departed and their failure to address technical issues with the surveillance system at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Additionally, Horowitz mentioned that Epstein had an excessive number of bed sheets, which were used in his hanging. Notably, the report concludes that there is no evidence of foul play or involvement of influential individuals connected to Epstein in his death, refuting the rumors suggesting his killing was orchestrated.
Following Epstein’s demise in August 2019, Democrats, affluent liberal philanthropists, and universities have distanced themselves from him, despite having accepted his financial donations over the years. Epstein had been awaiting charges related to human trafficking and solicitation of minors for sexual activities.
“The BOP’s failures are troubling not only because the BOP did not adequately safeguard an individual in its custody, but also because they led to questions about the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death and effectively deprived Epstein’s numerous victims of the opportunity to seek justice through the criminal justice system,” Inspector General Michael Horowitz stated.
The OIG report discovered notable instances of poor job performance and management failures among BOP staff, as well as a general disregard for BOP policies aimed at guaranteeing inmate safety, security, and well-being.
Additional deficiencies highlighted in the report involved a defective surveillance camera system in the wing, which initially stopped working on June 29. The report also revealed that, in violation of BOP policy, the individual in question was permitted to make an unsupervised phone call around 7 p.m. on Aug. 9. Instead of contacting his mother as he had claimed, he reached out to another woman.
According to the OIG report, the guards on duty that night neglected to conduct several inmate head counts or regular rounds until 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 10. It was during this time that they discovered Epstein hanging from his bunk in his cell.
The report further reveals that Epstein’s cellmate had been moved out of MCC custody the previous evening. As a result, Epstein was left alone and unmonitored in his cell throughout the night.
