Epstein wasn't well guarded in prison, according to new documents about his death

The new files published by the U.S. Department of Justice on Jeffrey Epstein incorporate new details of his death in prison and emphasize that the pedophile did not have enough surveillance, despite the fact that he was at risk of suicide, as revealed this Friday by The Washington Post. Epstein died in prison on August 10, 2019, after being accused of several counts of trafficking and sexual offenses that could lead to a 45-year sentence, and after thousands of documents with evidence supporting the accusation of sexual abuse of girls and young women were published the day before.

The autopsy determined that he had hanged himself in his cell, although many people, including members of the U.S. Congress and supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, claimed without evidence that he was murdered.

The documents released by the Department of Justice - at the request of a law passed by Congress last month - also do not include any evidence of a possible murder and do delve into the theory that prison authorities did not adequately monitor Epstein, despite the fact that he was under surveillance for suicide risk, reads the article in the capital newspaper. The documents primarily provide more details about the previous suicide attempt that the magnate had made, when on July 23, 2019, a couple of weeks after his imprisonment, he was found semi-conscious on the floor of his cell, with a rope around his neck. "After trying to stand him up with difficulty, staff held Epstein's hands and legs and removed him on a stretcher, according to the report. A medical evaluation revealed redness and abrasions on his neck. The photos in the report, dated 1:45 a.m. and labeled "possible suicide attempt", show a disheveled Epstein, wearing a blue anti-suicide gown and skin slightly reddened above the collarbone," explains the Washington Post. After that, Epstein was placed on suicide watch and the handwritten notes of the employees, taken at 15-minute intervals, can be read in the documents.

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One of them points out that Epstein said a cellmate tried to kill him, and the investigation report also includes the testimony of an official who stated the same. However, investigators did not corroborate that the then cellmate, former police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, had assaulted him.

Another document includes notes from an interview with a prison psychologist who observed Epstein during the following two weeks, and in which the magnate assured that "committing suicide went against his religion" and that he did not like pain.

But three days later, when they were considering taking him out of the special unit for people with psychiatric problems where he was after the suicide attempt - from which he left on July 30 - the prison's chief psychologist wrote an email expressing his concern "because he had been downgraded to psychological observation instead of being kept under suicide watch".