Daily Update #9 - Prison Guards Charged over Death of Jeffery Epstien

The two guards patrolling during the time of Jeffery Epstein's suicide have recently been charged on the account of falsifying documents, including documents on the alleged "regular cell checks" on Mr. Epstein that never occurred. Josh Gerstein of Politico investigates the details of the role that the two guards played in the controversial death of Epstein, and what the ruling means to the case going forward.

The report on the mysterious circumstances around the death of Mr. Epstein begins with a summary, where Gerstein discusses the "repeatedly falsified official logs to show they made cell checks they never did,". These cell checks, alongside reports of "sleeping on the job and suffering the internet" regularly, show that the officers had careless intent while supervising Mr. Epstein. It was revealed that "There was apparently no video of Epstein’s cell or the area immediately outside it," which draws suspicious questions on why there was no video surveillance for such a highly publicized convict. Evidence of misconduct continues to stack up against the guards, who claimed they performed "75 separate entries saying she and Thomas performed required half-hourly rounds,” while they were actually found by the prosecution as "appeared to have been asleep" during their duty. Due to be facing 20-30 years if charged, a defendant on the case stated that "They’re going after the low man on the totem pole here," and believes that they are being "scapegoated" for the death of Jeffery Epstein.

Josh Gerstein was able to develop a strongly written piece through his use of a variety of primary and secondary sources, while expanding on the rules and values of journalism. Since the death of Epstein has seen recent public disapproval, it was refreshing to see an article that did not have any political bias to take away from the details. He did a fantastic job in presenting the different pieces of evidence across the story, and also gave the defendant side a platform to plead an innocent, but suspicious case.


LINK: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/19/prison-guards-charged-jeffrey-epsteins-death-071568

Gerstein, J. (2019, November 19). 2 prison guards charged as part of investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s death. Retrieved 

from https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/19/prison-guards-charged-jeffrey-epsteins-death-071568