Ghislaine Maxwell awakened every 15 minutes by flashlight to ensure she hasn't killed self as Epstein: Lawyer
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer has claimed that the British socialite has not been able to sleep in her cell as every 15 minutes she is disturbed by a flashlight to check if she is alive. On Tuesday, November 24, lawyer Bobbi Sternheim penned a letter detailing the condition in which Maxwell is living behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The lawyer stated: “Despite non-stop in-cell camera surveillance, Ms. Maxwell’s sleep is disrupted every 15-minutes when she is awakened by a flashlight to ascertain whether she is breathing.”
Sternheim also said that the alleged madam of Jeffrey Epstein “is overmanaged under conditions more restrictive than inmates housed in 10South, the most restrictive unit in the MCC; or individuals convicted of terrorism and capital murder and incarcerated at FCI Florence ADMAX, the most restrictive facility operated by the BOP.”
The letter, which was addressed to the US District Judge Alison Nathan, mentioned that Maxwell had to take two nasal swabs and was put in isolation for 21 days. The 58-year-old never got to know of her test results, Sternheim wrote. “Ms. Maxwell was ordered to remove her Covid-protection mask for an in-mouth inspection, further risking exposure to the virus,” the attorney explained as he added that his client was not given a toothbrush or soap in the beginning and no medical assistance was provided to her when she was in quarantine.
“Ms. Maxwell has spent the entirely [sic] of her pretrial detention in de facto solitary confinement under the most restrictive conditions where she is excessively and invasively searched and is monitored 24 hours per day,” Sternheim stated. Maxwell’s lawyer also argued that the “non-favorable” situation of his client has made it difficult for her to prepare to defend herself.
Sternheim’s letter came a day after federal prosecutors’ filing on Monday, November 23, noted that there were chances Maxwell came in contact with a staffer infected with coronavirus and was placed in quarantine. Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey said in the filing, “As was the case three months ago, the defendant continues to have more time to review her discovery than any other inmate at the MDC, even while in quarantine. The defendant also has as much, if not more, time as any other MDC inmate to communicate with her attorneys, even while in quarantine.”
Maxwell was arrested in July in New Hampshire as she is accused of hiring girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse. She is facing multiple charges related to sex trafficking. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Earlier, a close friend of Maxwell claimed that she was strip-searched every three hours since it has been feared she might kill herself like the disgraced financier. Brian Basham, a public relations veteran, said: “She is on her own floor and has a very small cell but doesn’t have a table to put her computer on. I’m told by the family that she has a camera in the ceiling and another camera that is 4 feet away from her and they adjust it when she moves about. They were waking her up every three hours to search her and the noise outside her cell with the guards laughing and joking and yelling to each other is very disturbing, so she hasn’t got much sleep. It’s bizarre.”