This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
US Attorney General William P. Barr has sharply criticized the management of the federal jail in Manhattan where financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead on August 10, 2019, after he had apparently hanged himself.
On August 10, 2019, Epstein, who was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, was discovered dead in his cell.
Mr. Barr announced on August 10, 2019, that both the F.B.I. and the Department’s Inspector General would open respective probes into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death.
According to officials, Epstein had been taken off suicide watch on July 29, 2019, and was being housed in a secure housing unit in one of the prison’s most restrictive wings, where two guards were supposed to check on him regularly.
However, the procedure of checking on Epstein every half-hour overnight was not followed, and he was found lifeless in his cell around 6:30 a.m. by a guard conducting morning rounds.
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. Barr stated, “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation.”
He added, “We will get to the bottom of what happened. There will be accountability.”
