LOCKED UP

Scandal-Plagued Jail Where Epstein Died Is Shutting Down

Federal officials said Thursday that Manhattan’s notorious Metropolitan Correctional Center will be closed “at least temporarily” until conditions there have been improved.

The notorious Manhattan jail where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in August 2019 is being shuttered by federal officials until conditions are improved at the facility. In a statement, the Department of Justice said federal prison officials had “assessed steps necessary to improve conditions” at the Metropolitan Correctional Center—where 233 prisoners are currently being held—and had decided to temporarily shutter the facility “until those issues have been resolved.” The Justice Department added that it’s “committed to ensuring that every facility in the federal prison system is not only safe and secure, but also provides people in custody with the resources and programs they need to make a successful return to society after they have served their time.” M.C.C. has been plagued with poor conditions for years and made headlines following Epstein’s death in his prison cell. The two guards assigned to watch Epstein failed to check in on him for hours, and ultimately admitted to faking records, authorities said.