US

Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyers Complain About Her Prison Conditions As Prison Officials Seek To Keep Her Alive

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Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell complained that she is being “treated worse” than her fellow inmates as prison officials attempt to prevent her untimely death.

The British socialite and heiress is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York, pending her July 12, 2021, trial, according to Forbes. Epstein was formerly held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he is said to have been subjected to rodents, bad food, little natural lighting and cramped conditions, Forbes reported.

Maxwell’s lawyers sent a letter Monday to a New York judge saying that Maxwell is being subjected to conditions unequal to her fellow prisoners. The lawyers emphasized in the letter that Maxwell’s treatment stems from fears over Epstein’s apparent suicide last summer in a New York City jail.

“As a result of what occurred with Mr. Epstein, Ms. Maxwell is being treated worse than other similarly situated pretrial detainees,” the letter said.

“Until recently, Ms. Maxwell was subjected to suicide watch protocols, including being woken up every few hours during the night and being forced to wear special clothing, despite the fact that she, unlike Mr. Epstein, has never been suicidal and was never diagnosed as exhibiting risk factors for suicide,” her lawyers added.

Maxwell’s lawyers said that she is being held “under uniquely onerous conditions,” according to the letter. The letter said Maxwell is isolated from her fellow prisoners, carefully watched through video surveillance and note-taking guards around the clock, and more.

“She has been forced to undergo numerous body scans,” the letter added, arguing that these conditions go against Maxwell’s Sixth Amendment rights.

Maxwell was arrested by the FBI at 8:30 a.m. July 2 in Bradford, New Hampshire. A grand jury for the U.S. District Court of Southern New York indicted Maxwell on charges of conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to these illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts, and perjury.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan denied bail to Maxwell during a virtual hearing in July, saying “the risks are simply too great” to allow her to be released on bail.

Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. The prison previously refused to explain to the DCNF what steps it would take to protect Maxwell, in light of Epstein’s death.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told Forbes that “for privacy, safety, and security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons does not release information on an individual inmate’s conditions of confinement.”