No, Jeffrey Epstein wasn’t murdered in federal prison in 2019, despite the many conspiracy theories circulating about his death; he killed himself. That was one clear conclusion from the long-awaited investigative report released recently by the inspector general for the Justice Department.
The report calls for a list of reforms — hiring more staff, tightening cell search procedures, fixing security cameras, assigning cellmates to inmates who have been on suicide watch. This list doesn’t go far enough.
It doesn’t address the inhumane conditions of special housing units, where Epstein spent the bulk of his time. Inmates housed in these units are confined to their cells for 23 hours a day and have limited human interaction. Though the term “special housing unit” is commonly used interchangeably with “solitary confinement,” inmates are often not alone — generally, federal prisoners in them have a cellmate. That’s because of overcrowding; two inmates are squeezed into a cell made for one.