Guards Did Not Follow Procedure While Monitoring Epstein Before Suicide: NYT

The guards at a Manhattan correctional facility tasked with watching billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein violated prison procedure the night of his apparent suicide, The New York Times reports. According to a law-enforcement official with knowledge of his detention, when Epstein was removed from the suicide watch, the Metropolitan Correctional Center had told the Justice Department that Epstein would again have a cellmate and that a guard “would look into his cell” every 30 minutes. Instead, Epstein was housed alone, and the 30 minute check-in procedure was not followed, the official with knowledge of his detention told the Times. Both guards in the Special Housing Unit Epstein was held in were working overtime shifts on the night of his death, according to the official. One of the guards was on his fifth consecutive day of overtime, and the second guard had reportedly been made to work the shift. The MCC has long been short staffed, according to union leaders.