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| In Jeffrey Epstein Suicide, Barr Criticizes ‘Failure’ by Manhattan Jail | In Jeffrey Epstein Suicide, Barr Criticizes ‘Failure’ by Manhattan Jail |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday sharply criticized the management of the federal jail in Manhattan where Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls, was found dead on Saturday morning after he had apparently hanged himself. | Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday sharply criticized the management of the federal jail in Manhattan where Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls, was found dead on Saturday morning after he had apparently hanged himself. |
| “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation,” Mr. Barr said. “We will get to the bottom of what happened,” he added. “There will be accountability.” | |
| Mr. Barr did not give details about the irregularities he mentioned. But questions have been raised about why Mr. Epstein had been taken off suicide watch and left in a cell, alone, without close supervision. | |
| No correctional officer had checked on Mr. Epstein for several hours before he was found, even though guards were supposed to look in on the prisoners in the protective unit where he was housed every half-hour, a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the detention said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was still ongoing. | |
| Mr. Epstein’s death came just two weeks after he had been taken off suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he had tried to kill himself on July 23, officials said. Mr. Epstein was being held at the detention center awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. | Mr. Epstein’s death came just two weeks after he had been taken off suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where he had tried to kill himself on July 23, officials said. Mr. Epstein was being held at the detention center awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. |
| “I was appalled, and indeed the whole department was, and frankly angry, to learn of the M.C.C.’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner,” Mr. Barr said as he gave a speech at a conference in New Orleans for the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police. | “I was appalled, and indeed the whole department was, and frankly angry, to learn of the M.C.C.’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner,” Mr. Barr said as he gave a speech at a conference in New Orleans for the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police. |
| That Mr. Epstein was taken off suicide watch and left unsupervised long enough to have apparently taken his own life has sparked a public outcry, prompting criticism of the Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons, which operates the Manhattan jail. Mr. Barr announced Saturday that both the F.B.I. and the Department’s Inspector General would open respective probes into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death. | That Mr. Epstein was taken off suicide watch and left unsupervised long enough to have apparently taken his own life has sparked a public outcry, prompting criticism of the Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons, which operates the Manhattan jail. Mr. Barr announced Saturday that both the F.B.I. and the Department’s Inspector General would open respective probes into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death. |
| Union officials said that for more than a year officials in Washington had been made aware of a severe staffing shortage at the facility in the wake of a federal hiring freeze. One of the guards on the unit where Mr. Epstein died was had been working overtime for five straight days, while the other had been forced to work overtime that day, a union official said. | |
| “The Council of Prison Locals has been sounding the alarm about the hiring freeze,” said Eric Young, the president of the union that represents federal prison workers across the country. | |
| An autopsy of Mr. Epstein’s body was conducted by the city’s medical examiner on Sunday, but a determination was pending further information. At the request of Mr. Epstein’s lawyers, a private pathologist was permitted to attend the examination, which chief medical examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson called a “routine practice.” | An autopsy of Mr. Epstein’s body was conducted by the city’s medical examiner on Sunday, but a determination was pending further information. At the request of Mr. Epstein’s lawyers, a private pathologist was permitted to attend the examination, which chief medical examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson called a “routine practice.” |
| Since leaving suicide watch on July 29, Mr. Epstein had been housed in a secure housing unit in one of the prison’s most restrictive wings. His lifeless body was found in his cell around 6:30 a.m., by a guard conducting morning rounds. | |
| Two guards were supposed to check on Mr. Epstein every half-hour overnight from Friday to Saturday morning, but that procedure was not followed, and no correctional officer had laid eyes on him for several hours before he was found, the law enforcement official said. | |
| In addition, Mr. Epstein was being housed alone, even though he had recently been taken off suicide watch. Under normal procedure, he should have had a cellmate, several officials said. | In addition, Mr. Epstein was being housed alone, even though he had recently been taken off suicide watch. Under normal procedure, he should have had a cellmate, several officials said. |
| According to Bureau of Prisons policy, several high-ranking prison officials would have had to have approved Mr. Epstein’s removal from the facility’s suicide prevention program, including the prison’s chief psychologist. | According to Bureau of Prisons policy, several high-ranking prison officials would have had to have approved Mr. Epstein’s removal from the facility’s suicide prevention program, including the prison’s chief psychologist. |
| Mr. Barr has asked the F.B.I. and the Justice Department’s Inspector General to launch inquiries into what was happening at the prison in the days and hours leading up to Mr. Epstein’s death. Mr. Epstein was also found unconscious in his cell last month in what could have been a suicide attempt. | Mr. Barr has asked the F.B.I. and the Justice Department’s Inspector General to launch inquiries into what was happening at the prison in the days and hours leading up to Mr. Epstein’s death. Mr. Epstein was also found unconscious in his cell last month in what could have been a suicide attempt. |
| Mr. Barr has asked the Justice Department’s Inspector General to investigate why Mr. Epstein was taken off suicide watch six days after that apparent attempt. | |
| The country’s top law enforcement official also said that Mr. Epstein’s suicide would not halt the investigation into other people who might have helped him traffic teenage girls for sex. He was charged with sexually abusing hundreds of adolescent girls at his mansions in Manhattan and in Palm Beach, Fla. | The country’s top law enforcement official also said that Mr. Epstein’s suicide would not halt the investigation into other people who might have helped him traffic teenage girls for sex. He was charged with sexually abusing hundreds of adolescent girls at his mansions in Manhattan and in Palm Beach, Fla. |
| “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy,” Mr. Barr said. “The victims deserve justice and they will get it.” | “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy,” Mr. Barr said. “The victims deserve justice and they will get it.” |