An inmate who spent months in the same prison cell block as convicted pedophile Jefferey Epstein says it is impossible for him to have committed suicide.
The former inmate said to The New York Post that there was no way any prisoner in that cell block could kill themselves.
He had been on suicide watch there, presumably without access to a belt or shoelaces and closely monitored by guards, as is standard protocol, but was taken off the list sometime before Saturday, when he was found curled up and unresponsive.
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One report said the watch was removed as recently as Thursday, but others claimed it had been in place only for about a week after the July 23 incident that left Epstein with bruises on his neck.
Jail spokesman Lee Plourde would not discuss when the watch status was removed or why, a step that would require a face-to-face evaluation and written justification, according to Bureau of Prisons policy.
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Uzair Paracha was in the prison for two years until 2005 and said that the inmates in that block were given frequent strip searches and said the guards “monitored us like lab rats.”
“There’s no way that man could have killed himself. I’ve done too much time in those units. It’s an impossibility,” another inmate said.
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“Between the floor and the ceiling is like eight or nine feet. There’s no way for you to connect to anything
“You have sheets, but they’re paper level, not strong enough. He was 200 pounds — it would never happen.
“When you’re on suicide watch, they put you in this white smock, a straight jacket. They know a person cannot be injurious to themselves,” the unnamed inmate said.
“Could he have done it from the bed? No sir. There’s a steel frame, but you can’t move it. There’s no light fixture. There’s no bars.
“They don’t give you enough in there that could successfully create an instrument of death. You want to write a letter, they give you rubber pens and maybe once a week a piece of paper,” he said.
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“It’s my firm belief that Jeffrey Epstein did not commit suicide. It just didn’t happen,” the inmate said to end his op ed.
He joins a long list of people including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and even President Donald Trump who do not appear to believe Epstein killed himself.
“What does the word suicide mean in the phrase suicide WATCH?” Giuliani, who is an attorney for President Trump, said.
“Who was watching? Did they fall asleep? Did the camera malfunction? Was there camera surveillance?” he said.
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“Who was he about to implicate? This is very questionable. Committing suicide on suicide watch doesn’t happen.”