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The OIG Report Into Jeffrey Epstein's Death: The Custody And Care Of Epstein (Chapter 4 Part 2) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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  Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
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  this episode, we're going to pick right back up where
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  we left off with the OIG report into the death
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  and circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein. In the
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  last episode, we were talking about Jeffrey Epstein's arrest and detention,
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  and now we're moving on to Jeffrey Epstein's initial cell
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  and cell mate assignment from July seventh to July twenty third.
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  According to the Warden, mcc New York typically housed inmates
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  in the shoe with the cellmate. Upon Epstein's initial transfer
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  to the Shoe on July seventh, twenty nineteen, he was
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  assigned to sell in the M tier of the Shoe
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  with inmate number one. The warden explained that Epstein was
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  a high profile inmate and that he initially selected Inmate
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  one to be Epstein's cell mate because Inmate one was
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  another high profile inmate and the warden believed in May
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  one to be the least likely Shoe inmate the harm Epstein,
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  Epstein and Inmate one were housed together in cell Z
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  zero five Dash one twenty four Section four. Events of
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  July twenty third and placement of Epstein on suicide watch
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  and psychological observation from July twenty third to July thirtieth.
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  According to BOP documents, at approximately one twenty seven am
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  on July twenty third, twenty nineteen, Senior Officer Specialists one
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  in two heard noises coming from the mtier in the Shoe,
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  the tier where Epstein was housed. Senior Officer Specialist II
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  documented in a BOP report that upon checking Cell Z
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  zero five Dash one twenty four, he saw Epstein laying
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  down near his bunk with a piece of handmade orange
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  cloth around his neck, and Senior Officer Specialist one wrote
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  in a BOP report that epstein cell mate in May
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  one said Epstein had attempted to hang himself. In his
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  interview with OIG, Senior Officer Specialist one said that Inmate one,
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  who appeared shaken up, told him that he had been
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  asleep on the floor of the cell and was awoken
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  when he felt Epstein land on him. Senior Officer Specialist
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  two reported that after he had been alerted by the noise,
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  he grabbed the door keys, called the control center for assistance,
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  and then he and Senior Officer Specialist one entered the cell,
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  where they secured and removed Epstein's cell mate. Senior Officer
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  Specialist one reported that he then re entered the cell,
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  placed Epstein on his side, and removed an orange homemade
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  rope from his neck. In his interview with OIG, Senior
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  Officer Specialist one said Epstein had a sheet around his neck,
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  which was attached to the bunk bed ladder in the cell.
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  Senior Officer Specialist one said Epstein was sitting on the
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  floor of the cell with his back against the bunk
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  bed ladder. Senior Officer Specialist one report said that Epstein
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  was breathing but unresponsive, so he began chest compressions, at
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  wi which time the morning Watch Operations Lieutenant and other
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  staff arrived. Senior Officer Specialist one confirmed in his OIG
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  interview that they started CPR, but stop when they realized
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  Epstein was already breathing. The Morning Watch Operations lieutenant documented
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  in a BOP report that when she arrived at the shoe,
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  she saw Epstein lying in the fetal position in his cell,
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  breathing heavily and snoring, wearing only a T shirt and boxers.
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  The Morning Watch Operations Lieutenant observed that Epstein's neck was red,
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  but she saw no further injuries. She called out to Epstein,
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  who flicked his eyes open and continued snoring. The CEOs
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  unsuccessfully tried to get Epstein to stand on his own
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  and then placed him on a stretcher and took him
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  to the Health Services unit. According to BP records, at
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  approximately one forty am, Epstein was transferred out of the
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  shoe and placed on suicide watch. As previously noted in
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  Chapter two two, inmates on suicide watch are housed in
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  dedicated room, typically in the health services area, where they
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  are continuously monitored by specially trained staff or inmates. Senior
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  Officer Specialist three documented in a BOP report that when
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  he and others responded to the call for assistance and
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  gained access to the shoe, he saw Epstein lying on
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  the floor of his cell snoring. He and the other
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  officers verbally instructed Epstein to stand up, but Epstein did not.
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  He and other officers then lifted Epstein onto a stretcher
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  to remove him from the cell. Senior Officer Specialist four
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  wrote in a BOP report that he responded to a
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  body alarm in the shoe and helped remove Epstein from
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  his cell, placed him on a stretcher, and took him
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  to the second floor for a medical assessment. Senior Officer
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  Specialist four further reported that while he was observing Epstein
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  in the Health Services Unit, Epstein told Senior Officer Specialist
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  four that he thought his cell mate had tried to
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  kill him. Epstein further stated that his cellmate had tried
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  to extort him and that for the last week, as
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  cell mate had threatened to beat him if he did
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  not pay him. Epstein told Senior Officer Specialist four he
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  had not reported this to mcc New York staff, but
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  that he had told his lawyers. The Morning Watch Operations
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  Lieutenant documented in a BOP report. When she returned to
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  the Health Services Unit, Senior Officer Specialist four informed her
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  that Epstein had said his cell mate had tried to
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  kill Epstein and been harassing him. The Morning Watch Operations
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  Lieutenant then spoke to his cellmate in Mat one, who
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  said he was wearing headphones and was asleep when he
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  felt something hit his legs. Inmate one said he called
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  out to Epstein, and when Epstein did not answer, he
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  got up, turned on the light and saw Epstein sitting
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  on the floor, lean to the side with a string
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  around his neck. In Mat One told the morning Watch
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  Operations lieutenant that he then called the guards. Inmate one
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  provided a similar statement to BP officials at approximately two
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  fifty pm on July twenty third, twenty nineteen. The Morning
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  Watch Operations lieutenant report notes that she also spoke with Epstein,
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  who told her that he had returned to his cell
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  after an attorney visit at approximately eight pm the previous day,
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  at which time his cellmate was reading the Daily News newspaper.
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  Epstein said his cell mate turned to a page of
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  the newspaper that had Epstein's picture and reported that Epstein
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  was worth seventy seven million. Epstein told the Morning Watch
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  Operations lieutenant that he looked at the picture, balled it up,
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  threw it in the garbage. Epstein further stated that he
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  woke up at approximately one am to get a drink
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  of water, returned to his bunk, and the next thing
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  he remembered was that he was snoring and mcc new
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  York staff were inside his cell. When asked about the
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  allegations against his cell mate, Epstein said he had been
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  told that if his cellmate heard him mcc new York
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  staff would not care. Inmate two, who was housed in
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  the same shoe tierras Epstein, on July twenty third, told
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  the FBI about the incident that occurred in the shoe
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  around one twenty am to one thirty am on an
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  unspecified date. In May two said he was reading a
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  book when he heard an inmate scream and bang on
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  the cell door to get the shoe officer's attention. In
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  May two said he could only see the cell door
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  and not inside. According to Inmate two, senior officers Specialist
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  too responded on the cell and then left and returned
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  with additional officers. The FBI was further told by inmate
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  two that the officers opened the cell door, removed an inmate,
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  placed the inmate in handcuffs, and put the inmate in
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  the shower area. In May two stated that the officers
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  re entered the cell and in May two heard a
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  thump as if something had hit the floor. The officers
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  then pulled the other inmate out of the cell, placed
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  them on a stretcher, and took them away. In May
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  two also told the FBI that later in the evening,
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  around two ten to two fifteen am, the CEO's return
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  to the cell where the incident had occurred earlier. He
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  said he further observed the officers clean out the cell
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  and use a video camera to record the inside of
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  the cell. In May two, said he saw the officers
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  remove from the cell orange clothing items that had been
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  tied together. In May two also said that the first
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  inmate to be removed from the cell later told in
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  May two he was sleeping when his cell made had
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  tried to kill himself by hanging himself from the ladder
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  of the bed. According to BP records, medical staff evaluated
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  Epstein at approximately six twenty am on July twenty third,
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  twenty nineteen, and observed friction marks and superficial reddening of
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  his neck and one knee. The red mark spanned two
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  thirds of Epstein's neck, front and sides and was two
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  inches wide. Epstein told the medical staff that he did
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  not know what had caused his injuries, and that he
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  went to drink a little water and woke up snoring.
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  After that morning, mcc New York staff psychologists conducted a
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  suicide risk assessment and determined that Epstein should remain on
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  suicide watch. During the assessment, Epstein denied any knowledge of
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  how he sustained the marks on his neck. The staff
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  psychologists noted in the assessment report that it was unclear
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  whether Epstein had placed the string around his neck or
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  if someone else did. Medical staff examined Epstein had approximately
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  one o eight pm the following day, July twenty fourth,
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  twenty nineteen, and observed that the central part of the
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  red mark on Epstein's neck had some abrasion. According to
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  BP records, Epstein told the medical staff that he did
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  not want to talk about how he sustained the injuries,
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  but he believed his cellmate had something to do with it.
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  BOP's Special Investigative Services opened an investigation into this incident,
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  but was unable to determine whether Epstein harmed himself or
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  had been assaulted. On July twenty fe four, twenty nineteen,
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  at approximately eight forty five am, Epstein was removed from
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  suicide watch. However, Epstein remained in the same cell that
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  he was placed in the previous day and was under
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  psychological observation until July thirtieth, twenty nineteen. The mcc New
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  York Chief Psychologist told the OIG an inmate is placed
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  on suicide Watch when the inmate is believed to be
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  eminently suicidal. During suicide Watch, the inmate is under constant
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  observation by staff. The cell lights are on twenty four
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  hours a day, and the inmate is given a special mattress, blanket,
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  and smock to wear. The Chief Psychologists explained that although
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  psychological observation is in a lower class at MCC New York,
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  the psychological observations were the same as suicide Watch, except
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  that inmates were allowed to have their clothing and some
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  materials such as books as determined by the psychology Department.
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  At MCC New York, psychological observation was used to see
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  how inmates were doing before releasing the inmate into a
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  housing unit. The Chief Psychologists told the OIG that the
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  psychology department independently makes the decision who goes on and
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  off suicide Watch. The Chief Psychologists also stated that the
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  psychology department makes recommendations to the institution's management about where
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  inmates are housed when they come off of suicide Watch.
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  According to her, the psychology department always recommends that inmates
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  coming off of suicide Watch be housed with other inmates. However,
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  she said the recommendations cannot always be carried out due
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  to other security factors. When that occurs, the Psychology Department
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  recommends conducting increased rounds and keeping an eye on those inmates.
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  The chief Psychologists further told the OIG, based on a
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  conversation with the BOP's National Suicide Prevention Coordinator from the
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  BP's Central Office, she passed along to the mcc new
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  New York executive staff the recommendation that Epstein be housed
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  with an alleged sex offender in the shoe. The chief
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  psychologist stated that the mcc new York warden and associate
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  wardens decided who Epstein would be housed with, and the
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  Psychology Department was not involved in that decision, according to
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  BP records, as a result of the July twenty third incident,
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  mcc new York subsequently conducted disciplinary proceedings against Ebstein for
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  alleged self mutilation, but ultimately found that there was insufficient
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  evidence to find that Epstein engaged in a prohibited act.
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  When Epstein was psychologically evaluated on July thirtieth, twenty nineteen,
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  in connection with disciplinary proceedings, Epstein said he did not
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  remember how he obtained the marks around his neck. On
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  August two, twenty nineteen, the SIS investigation into the July
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  twenty third, twenty nineteen incident was completed and found insufficient
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  evidence to support either that Epstein had harmed himself or
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  that he had been harmed by his cell mate. Senior
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  Officer Specialist one told the OIG that after Epstein came
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  off suicide Watch, Epstein asked if he could be paired
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  up within Maate one again. Senior Officer Specialist one told
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  Epstein that this request was something he would need to
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  raise with the operations Lieutenant Senior Officer Specialist one told
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  the OIG that Epstein replied, yeah, but I don't understand.
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  You know, we were bunkies. Everything was cool. The chief
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  Psychologists also told the OIG that Epstein mentioned to her
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  that he wanted Inmate one to continue to be his
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  cell mate. All right, folks, we're gonna wrap this portion
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  up right here, and we're gonna pick up in the
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  next episode with section five, and that is the psychology
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  departments post July twenty third determination that Epstein needed to
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  have an appropriate cell mate. All of the information that
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  goes with this episode can be found in the description
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  box