DOJ watchdog report finds negligence led to Epstein’s death

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was able to end his own life in a Manhattan prison cell in 2019 due to “numerous and serious failures” by the federal Bureau of Prisons employees who worked there.

That’s the conclusion of a newly-published report from the DOJ Inspector General, whose office spent the last four years examining 125,000+ records and interviewing dozens of witnesses about the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.

🤔 A deeper dive... Investigators describe a series of “job performance failures” by prison employees that allowed Epstein, who was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, to commit suicide in his cell.

For example:

• Guards permitted Epstein to hoard extra blankets, linens, and clothing – despite the fact that he’d tried to hang himself with such items two weeks earlier.
• Prison employees lied about making regular checks on Epstein that would’ve discovered his extra bedding.
• Guards also violated a standing order from medical staff by keeping Epstein alone in his cell for a full day when his cellmate left (after which Epstein was found dead).
• Nearly all of the surveillance cameras in Epstein’s unit weren’t recording when he died due to a mechanical failure two weeks prior.

🗣️ Also worth mentioning: On the night before he died, Epstein was allowed an illicit unrecorded phone call to someone he claimed was his mother – despite her being deceased at the time. Still, a prison manager placed the call and, upon hearing a male voice, handed the phone to Epstein and left "because his shift had ended."

📝 Bottom line: While a slight majority of Americans believe Epstein was killed in prison to keep him from revealing compromising information on other powerful people, the DOJ Inspector General said his investigation “did not uncover evidence” contradicting the NYC medical examiner and FBI’s conclusions that Epstein hung himself with a homemade noose.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, which of the following events most likely happened?

Epstein committed suicide on his own

Epstein was coerced into committing suicide

Epstein was murdered

Unsure/other