Ghislaine Maxwell has been placed on suicide watch in a last-ditch effort to get leniency before her sentencing. She is charged with five criminal counts, including sex trafficking according to her lawyer.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 28, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Her lawyer, Bobbi Sternheimm, wrote to a federal court in New York, “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.”
Just three years ago, Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. The federal government announced last year they would be closing MCC.
Maxwell’s lawyers told the court she isn’t suicidal.
“Ms. Maxwell was abruptly removed from general population and returned to solitary confinement, this time without any clothing, toothpaste, soap, legal papers, etc.” her lawyer’s letter said on Saturday.
“She was provided a ‘suicide smock’ and is given a few sheets of toilet paper on request. This morning, a psychologist evaluated Ms. Maxwell and determined she is not suicidal.”
Her lawyers said she is not able to prepare for her sentencing because she “is prohibited from reviewing legal materials prior to sentencing, becomes sleep-deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel.”
They mentioned that if this didn’t change by Monday, they will formally request a sentencing date delay.
The Department of Justice responded to Maxwell’s legal team on Sunday afternoon. They mentioned that Maxwell was put on suicide watch after she sent an alleged email to the Bureau of Prisons Inspector General’s Office saying she feared for her safety.
“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,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams wrote.
“Although the defendant has claimed to psychology staff that she is not suicidal, she has refused to answer psychology staff’s question regarding the threat she reported to the IG. While she claimed to the IG to be in fear for her safety, she refused to tell psychology staff what that fear is,” he wrote.
He continued, “Given the defendant’s inconsistent accounts to the IG and to psychology staff, the Cheif Psychologist assesses the defendant to be at additional risk of self-harm, as it appears she may be attempting to be transferred to a single cell where she can engage in self-harm. The defendant will remain on suicide watch until the MDC assesses that she is no longer at heightened risk of self-harm.”
