Contrary to initial reports, Jeffrey Epstein was apparently not under a suicide watch in his cell in a Manhattan federal prison where he was found dead on Saturday.
The disgraced billionaire financier was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead after he reportedly hanged himself in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges.
Accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is dead, ABC News confirms https://t.co/6q8aPiKNwp
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) August 10, 2019
While reports Saturday indicated that the 66-year-old convicted sex offender was under 24-hour supervision due to an earlier, failed suicide attempt last month, people familiar with the investigation told NBC News that he was not under a watch at the time he took his life.
A prison official cited by The New York Times indicated that there was extra security in the unit that Epstein was being held in in the prison but he was not under any kind of suicide watch.
The Associated Press also reported that Epstein had been taken off the suicide watch.
BREAKING: Jeffrey Epstein had been taken off suicide watch before he killed himself, a person familiar with the matter says. Follow AP’s full coverage. https://t.co/uc7VwPzWfm
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 10, 2019
According to AP:
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Epstein had been taken off suicide watch. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. It wasn’t immediately clear when he was taken off suicide watch.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that he had been housed in the jail’s Special Housing Unit, a heavily secured part of the facility that separates high-profile inmates from the general population.
The shocking reports of Epstein’s death Saturday morning came just a day after unsealed court documents were released, implicating several prominent political names – including Bill Clinton – and making public testimony from one of his accusers. His death raised suspicions and sent social media hashtags trending as many questioned how prison personnel failed to prevent his death.
Epstein’s death is “an unfortunate and shocking failure, if proven to be a suicide,” former warden Cameron Lindsay told the Associated Press. “Unequivocally, he should have been on active suicide watch and therefore under direct and constant supervision.”
Attorney General William Barr reacted in a statement saying the apparent suicide “raises serious questions.”
“I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody. Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” Barr said.
“In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death,” he said.
Meanwhile, MSNBC host Joy Reid seemed to be blaming Barr’s Justice Department.
Following her MSNBC’s colleagues’ conspiratorial theme, Joy Ann Reid is repeatedly using her show this AM to suggest AG Bill Barr may be connected to Epstein’s death. pic.twitter.com/KE4IG7EILH
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 10, 2019
And “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough launched an even more eyebrow raising theory.
Joe Scarborough’s ‘Russian’ take on Epstein’s death shakes up Twitter https://t.co/cPDfOpWw1i pic.twitter.com/lYTxFq66zL
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) August 10, 2019
“A guy who had information that would have destroyed rich and powerful men’s lives ends up dead in his jail cell. How predictably…Russian,” Scarborough tweeted.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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