“Officer Ferguson, you got one job, keep the damn prisoner alive. No ganging, no hanging, okay? Don’t let no miscreant get to him. That means no bad guys, see? No corrupt guards, no homicidal convicts, no vicious visitors. Also no shivs, no slit wrists, no sliced throat, no shredded sheets, no seppuku. Shouldn’t be hard, right?”
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| Jeffrey Epstein |
But wait. Commentators have seized upon the notion Epstein might have hanged himself with bed sheets. That’s soooo 19th century.
Some time back, a prison matron explained inmates on suicide watch aren’t given standard bedding. Penitentiaries issue hospital style paper sheets precisely so they can’t be used for hanging. Clothing resembles a tear-resistant hospital gown with velcro closures, no buttons, zippers, or ties. Footwear includes heavy socks and sort of felt slippers, rather than prison-issue flip-flops.
In Eve Fisher’s part of the country, prisoners on suicide watch are stripped naked and given a blanket, or issued a paper uniform and bed sheets. Like their East Coast counterparts, at-risk incarcerated are checked every fifteen minutes and recorded on camera 24/7. Like most who have a working knowledge of prison life, Eve says suicide while under observation is nigh impossible, but once off suicide watch, death for the determined isn’t that difficult.
The prison kitchen provides food in paper bowls without utensils, issued randomly so preparers cannot target an individual inmate. Feed is deliberately bland with virtually no seasoning.
Typically in modern prisons, the bed is poured from concrete as is a tiny seat, shelf, and 1st grader-size desktop. Epstein’s assigned cell reportedly contains a shower. Toilets are usually cold stainless steel devices with neither hinged seat nor lid.
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| cell toilet © New York Daily News |
In late June and early July, Jeffrey Epstein reported his life had been threatened. On 24 July, a supervisor found him mauled and barely conscious on his cell floor.
Epstein expressed fear for his life. Usually that would call for extra protection, not less.
Two guards have been suspended for dereliction. Their warden has been reassigned. A befuddled William Barr has yet to resign.
Meanwhile, Back at the Raunch…
People accused – I emphasize ‘accused’, not convicted – include a number of famous men, at least three women, a senator, a governor, and Epstein’s own lawyer, celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz, ironically scheduled for a child trafficking mock trial. He has claimed documents ‘prove’ his non-involvement. Whether or not he’s guilty, Dershowitz should know better. Said documents prove no such thing.
The swirling waters have been further muddied by three names linked to the White House, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and– yes, it had to happen– Hillary Clinton. The mention of Hillary is a fevered fantasy of the rabid right just as Trump involvement titillates the ludicrous left.
Despite young women being recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein at Mar-a-Lago, available evidence suggests both Clinton and Trump prefer fully-formed women, not teen girls. One president dragging another’s name into the mud epitomizes dirty politics.
And the Verdict is…
Inexplicably, the Associated Press has dug in taking a position Epstein’s death is suicide. The alternative apparently appears unthinkable. Likewise, normally conspiracy-loving radio talk hosts are unexpectedly warning about unwarranted conspiracy theories, as if they fear further news will undermine some favored position.
The cleverest conclusion I’ve heard regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s death comes from my friend Darlene. Got to appreciate the irony. She calls it…
Assisted Suicide
What’s your take?
Leigh, I don't tend to believe conspiracy theories, but I agree with your friend Darlene. If it were suicide, the situation was manipulated to enable him to do it. Personally, I think he was murdered, but I'm not positive who I believe ordered it.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I agree with your take on the matter. It's more than mere incompetence.
ReplyDeleteMy take is that either someone was paid, or an inmate decided this would be a good way to make his bones.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above. I think he was given an opportunity, and he took it. (How it was provided is a different question, and quite possibly more sinister.)
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's apparent either of two things happened:
ReplyDelete1. suicide
2. homicide
If he committed suicide, some sort of currency changed unclean hands.
If homicide was committed, some sort of currency changed unclean hands…
… unless someone was trying to make a name for himself, and some sort of currency changed unclean hands.
Thus it would seem the correctional center wasn't interested in keeping Epstein alive.
I think the fix is in, Leigh.
ReplyDeleteD'accord, Larry. I agree.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see if there is a guard or two who don't make it to the end of the year. Even if a year from now there are verifiable links to the white house or wherever, I think the public is exhausted and too distracted to follow this case to justice.
ReplyDelete