A new report from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) slammed the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) over multiple failures that resulted in the death of billionaire financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The report highlights “long-standing operational challenges that negatively affect the BOP’s ability to operate its institutions safely and securely,” including staffing shortages, managing inmates at risk for suicide, malfunctioning security camera systems, management failures and “widespread disregard of BOP policies and procedures.”
The OIG identified the same challenges while investigating the “custody, care, and supervision of one of the BOP’s most notorious inmates, Jeffrey Epstein.”
According to the report, the OIG did not find evidence contradicting the FBI’s prior determination that Epstein died by suicide.
“None of the MCC New York staff members we interviewed were aware of any information suggesting Epstein’s cause of death was something other than suicide,” the report continued. “Additionally, none of the inmates we interviewed had any credible information suggesting Epstein’s cause of death was something other than suicide. Further, the SHU staff and three interviewed inmates with a direct line of sight to Epstein’s cell door on the night of his death stated that no one entered or exited Epstein’s cell after the SHU staff returned Epstein to his cell on August 9.”
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The OIG said “negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures” contributed to “an environment in which arguably one of the BOP’s most notorious inmates was provided with the opportunity to take his own life.”
In addition to “depriving his numerous victims, many of whom were underage girls at the time of the alleged crimes, of their ability to seek justice through the criminal justice process,” the BOP’s failures also led to “significant questions” surrounding Epstein’s death, including how
it could have been allowed to happen.
“The OIG made eight recommendations to the BOP to address the numerous issues identified during our investigation and review. Finally, we recommended that the BOP review the conduct and performance of the BOP personnel as described in this report and determine whether discipline or other administrative action with regard to each of them is appropriate,” the report concluded.
Roughly three months after Epstein died in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, a new autopsy investigation suggested the child abuser did not die at his own hands, but instead was murdered.
Dr. Michael Baden, a former high-profile New York City medical examiner, revealed his own observation of Epstein’s autopsy in an exclusive Fox News interview at the time. Baden noted fractures to larynx, damage to the cartilage of his Adam’s apple and a fracture on the left side of his hyoid bone are all peculiar injuries not typically consistent with the official cause of death – that he hung himself in his cell.
“Those three fractures are extremely unusual in suicidal hangings and could occur much more commonly in homicidal strangulation,” Baden said.
