Since Jeffrey Epstein died this past Saturday, we’ve really been holding back on writing anything about it for fear of contributing to a practice we’ve always discouraged; perpetuating personal theories or myths. As people required to register, we absolutely do not want anyone to jump to conclusions about us without knowing all the facts.
Since this has been the biggest “sex offender story” in the news for so long and given the dramatic turn it’s taken, we thought to end this week with some commentary. Not a conspiracy theory… just sharing the facts and our disbelief that this could happen.
Initially, we had a very hard time comprehending how the most high-profile inmate at a federal detention center could kill himself or even be in a position to do so. What we’ve all learned since, has only added to our disbelief.
So let’s start with the first fact. Jeffrey Epstein, one of the most high profile inmates (if not the most high profile) in the Bureau of Prisons, who potentially could have implicated a sitting President, a former President, a British Prince and other wealthy and powerful people in a sex trafficking ring, was found dead in his cell. Anyone who did not see that one coming was probably also surprised to learn Harry and Sally wind up together at the end of the movie.
Next, the BOP’s supervision (or lack thereof) during the final hours of his life was either grossly incompetent or blatantly intentional. If incompetence; this was a colossal screw up by multiple people on a gigantic scale! If the Federal Bureau of Prisons is so inept to allow the most important inmate to die on their watch, everyone in BOP custody and every member of the public should be very scared. If intentional (either he was placed in a situation where he could carry out a suicide or dare I say something worse), inmates and the public should be even more scared!
There’s a lot we’ve learned, but here are five facts we know so far:
- Guards that were supposed to check on him every 30 minutes didn’t actually check on him for hours before his death, and if that’s not already suspect…they falsified reports to make it look like they did check on him. [1]
- One of the two guards on duty was a new guard who was not a regular corrections officer, but was “temporarily assigned” to the special housing unit the day of the death.[2]
- At Epstein’s level of supervision he was required to have a cellmate, but his cellmate was taken out of his cell hours before he died and nobody else put in. [3]
- The coroner is being very careful and has still not announced a cause of death, but preliminarily, the autopsy showed he had multiple fractures in his neck bones, something that is more common in death by strangulation than by hanging. [4]
- When his lawyers last spoke with him, his mood was reported to be very positive. [5]
Again, no conspiracy theories here… just facts. We’re sure that a lot more information will come out over the next few months that will put an end to all the speculation.
The one conclusion that became pretty definitive as we were putting together this week’s FAC Weekly Update, is that if law enforcement can arrest a man for eating breakfast too close to a tennis court and run a three month, multi-agency “Operation Bullshit”, there were definitely enough resources out there to keep a better eye on Epstein, they are just being misused.
Trust me, the BOP is indeed that incompetent and guards that lazy. I believe only in small conspiracies because large ones are too difficult to cover up. Nixon learned that.
Several years ago I worked in the medical department at F.S.P. Inmates regularly did the 20 minute checks of the C.S.U. cells while the officers were “otherwise occupied”. Officers who regularly work “doubles” are always falling asleep. Could this have happened? Most definitely YES!
I thought neck breaks were common in hangings. I didn’t know breaks happened in strangulations.
Positive moods before suicides are a common sign seen in people who commit suicide. They go from being down to suddenly being in a good mood. It’s like the person knows it’s their last day of life. So, they make the best of it, or they’re in a good mood because they know their pain will soon be over. I’ve heard that one before many times. So, to me hearing about his positive mood the day before, just made it seem even more likely that it was suicide.
Not being checked on as he was supposed to be: Apparently, that’s very common too. It was probably that way the whole time he was there.
Not having a cell mate: Makes sense that he would take advantage and do this during this time.
Not being on suicide anymore. We do know that he was very manipulative, dishonest, and good at getting what he wanted.
He was a prideful man. He couldn’t handle being controlled by others. He was used to doing all the controlling. Suicide makes sense.
Maybe it wasn’t suicide, but it certainly makes sense that it could very well have been. We need more information to figure out if any other theories really make sense.
Checking on him every 30 minutes still left ample time for him to kill himself. I personally spent many periods of time by myself in a 2-man cell when the need for bed space was low. He had been taken off suicide watch. He was faking his “positive” mood so well that his lawyers believed it, so why wouldn’t the medical staff also fall for it? It is not uncommon for rich men to kill themselves when they suddenly lose their wealth. That’s what is really sad here. He didn’t have any remorse for the girls he abused. He only felt sorry for himself.
Okay, so now the “official” autopsy report is out. It’s no surprise that it has been “declared” a suicide. Epstein was six feet tall. Top bunks are maybe that high. So he hung himself from something his own height…..okay.
Great work FAC. Thank you for this. The coroner’s report of cause of death should be interesting, given what showed in the preliminary autopsy.
Hello everyone, I’m retired F.D.O.C. (yes I am a person required to register) just wanted to throw my two cents in here about these 5 facts:
There’s a lot we’ve learned, but here are five facts we know so far:
Guards that were supposed to check on him every 30 minutes didn’t actually check on him for hours before his death, and if that’s not already suspect…they falsified reports to make it look like they did check on him. [1]
–C.O.s ‘guards’ have affixed posts. In the event of being understaffed (a notorious and common problem in corrections) a Sergeants or Senior Officers will “catch up” the time logs. Not always done so out of blatant negligence, but rather in an effort to comply while understaffed. You can’t turn back time, so the assumption made is that the suicide happened within minutes of the most approximate check.
One of the two guards on duty was a new guard who was not a regular corrections officer, but was “temporarily assigned” to the special housing unit the day of the death.[2]
–Again we return to under-staffing. The laws have become very lenient when it comes to whom is qualified to act as a ‘guard’ and under which circumstances. Shift Captains, or whomever the most senior and assigned Officer may place under-qualified corrections personnel in a
number of dangerous posts even if it is obvious that experience/training limitations are exceeded and normal laws bent. I’ve seen this happen in the S.H.U. often, it’s kind of like musical chairs you never know when or where an incident will occur you just hope its not on your shift. This is called “Officer Discretion” and is permitted and practiced at many facilities especially at the state level and those managed by private corporations.
At Epstein’s level of supervision he was required to have a cellmate, but his cellmate was taken out of his cell hours before he died and nobody else put in. [3]
–“Required to have a cellmate” classification makes recommendations(being the key word) such as these. They are based on cellmates having alike-charges, E.O.S., and other similarities. If an inmates makes it known to “guards” that he is not okay with his cellmate (especially in the S.H.U.) they are generally moved (per shift captain approval) to a vacant cell temporarily. The move is then logged and submitted to classifications whom generally only work administrative hours (not night shift). Given the nature of Epstein’s charges and celebrity status. I can see how it was nearly impossible to find a suitable cellmate. Epstein could have very well had a cellmate at the time of his death: The log just needs to reflect that the cellmate was moved out prior to Eptein’s suicide to avoid further issues with O.I.G. but in the “catch up logs” it needs to reflect that he was moved out prior. It might sound crazy to the average person, but over the years it has become so that cellmates don’t even try to stop another inmate’s suicide. They calmly sit on their bunk and don’t get involved. I have some ideas on why this relatively new behavior is taking place, but I don’t want to include conjecture here.
The coroner is being very careful and has still not announced a cause of death, but preliminarily, the autopsy showed he had multiple fractures in his neck bones, something that is more common in death by strangulation than by hanging. [4]
–This hints to a classifications error, that administrative facility personnel are trying to sweep under the rug. In a facility it is always better to deal with a suicide instead of inmate homicide. I would be curious to find out if the original cellmate that Epstein had was even at that facility anymore. When events occur and logs are in ‘disorder’ sometimes inmates get shipped out to other facilities within hours. Unable to be found and questioned by O.I.G. personnel. Warden’s have been known to swap inmates to and from neighboring facilities without asking too many questions, creating plausible deniability.
When his lawyers last spoke with him, his mood was reported to be very positive. [5] — I can’t imagine why his mood would be very positive, but okay. Let’s go with that.
I’m glad to not be a part of that world anymore.
God Bless!
Most interestingly I wanted to hear why you think inmates forgo stopping inmate suicide these days.
But isn’t it just absurd on so many levels that such a high profile person was house in such an understaffed and under trained facility?
Please avoid the conspiracy theory lunacy of our opponents. Incompetence or perhaps apathy is a sufficient explanation in this case.
Amen. Amen, and Amen!
Very well written yes very suspicious thanks for up date