Ghislaine Maxwell Is On Suicide Watch

Ghislaine Maxwell is on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as she awaits her sentencing. Maxwell was found guilty in December of child sex trafficking and related charges for her role in aiding her associate and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell, 60, is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday. Her lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, wrote to a federal court in New York on Saturday explaining that she does not believe Maxwell is being treated properly while on suicide watch. 

Sternheim said a psychologist evaluated Maxwell and concluded that she isn’t suicidal.

“Yesterday, without having conducted a psychological evaluation and without justification, the MDC placed Ms. Maxwell on suicide watch. She is not permitted to possess and review legal documents and is not permitted paper or pen. This has prevented her from preparing for sentencing,” Sternheim said in the letter.

“Ms. Maxwell was abruptly removed from general population and returned to solitary confinement, this time without any clothing, toothpaste, soap, legal papers, etc. She was provided a ‘suicide smock’ and is given a few sheets of toilet paper on request,” he added.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams wrote to the court Sunday in response to Sternheim’s letter and said that Maxwell was assessed by a psychologist who did declare her at risk for suicide.

“Here, the Warden and Chief Psychologist assessed that the defendant is at heightened risk of self-harm, particularly given her upcoming sentencing and sex offender status. As a result, they are not comfortable placing the defendant in the SHU (Special Housing Unit), but they also need to remove the defendant from general population to investigate the threat she reported to the IG,” Williams said.

Maxwell faces up to 55 years in prison. 

In August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.