William Barr, the
American Attorney General, has described the death of Jeffrey Epstein's in
prison as a suicide that was the result of “a perfect storm of screw-ups.” The lawyer claimed a “series” of mistakes contributed to the paedophile being given the opportunity to take his life at the
New York jail while he was awaiting trial. In an interview with The Associated Press, Mr Barr said he had personally reviewed security CCTV footage that showed no one entered the area where Epstein was held on the night he died. “I can understand people who immediately, whose minds went to sort of the worst-case scenario because it was a perfect storm of screw-ups,” Mr Barr said. He added that his concerns were prompted by the numerous irregularities at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was held on charges of sexually abusing girls as young as 14 in New York and Florida. Mr Barr’s comments came as lawyers for Epstein’s victims renewed their calls for Prince Andrew, a former friend of Epstein until he broke off ties with him, to speak to US
police following his controversial interview on BBC’s Newsnight. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself while in prison in August Credit: AP Epstein was placed on suicide watch after he was found on his cell floor with bruises on his neck on July 23 this year. He was taken off suicide watch around a week before his death, but was kept on a heightened watch and required to have a cellmate. However, his cellmate was transferred to another jail on August 9, a day before Epstein was found hanged. “I think it was important to have a roommate in there with him and we're looking into why that wasn't done, and I think every indication is that was a screw-up,” Mr Barr said. “The systems to assure that was done were not followed.” Earlier this week, two guards whose duty was to watch over Epstein's jail unit, were charged with sleeping and browsing the internet during their shift on the night the prisoner died. Officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were supposed to check on Epstein every 30 minutes. The
FBI and the Justice Department's inspector general are continuing to investigate the death. Prince Andrew appeared in a Newsnight interview where he answered questions about his friendship with Epstein after this photograph emerged of the prince with a young
Virginia Roberts, who has claimed he had sex with her Credit: AKGS The suicide cast a spotlight on the federal Bureau of Prisons, which has been plagued by chronic staffing shortages and outbreaks of violence. The indictment against the two officers, which was unsealed this week, gives a damning account of safety lapses inside the high-security unit at the prison. But it also provides new details which reinforce claims the financier’s death was suicide, a finding made by city's medical examiner. Montell Figgins, a lawyer for Thomas, one of the officers, said both guards are being "scapegoated." Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell when the guards went to deliver breakfast. One of the guards told a supervisor then that they hadn't done their 3am or 5am rounds, according to the indictment. Conspiracy theories surrounding his death were fuelled by the possibility his trial would see prominent figures give evidence. Commenting on the continuing investigation, Mr Barr added: “They are definitely pushing things along. I'll just say there is good progress being made, and I'm hopeful in a relatively short time there will be tangible results.”