Ghislaine Maxwell won't be allowed shirts, pants or bedsheets if put on suicide watch
After Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty on five charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges in connection with Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, reports said that she will be put on suicide watch. If that is true, the British socialite may be banned from wearing shirts or pants. Also, her bedsheets could be removed while she's watched closely by correction officers, an expert said.
Maxwell was found guilty on five of six charges for which the jury deliberated for 40 hours. Maxwell was found guilty of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. While both the first and second counts carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the third carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and the fourth carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison. She was acquitted of Count 2, which involved enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
READ MORE
Ghislaine Maxwell may flip on Epstein's pals and 'sing like a canary' for shorter sentence
Jeffrey Epstein's green massage table can send Ghislaine Maxwell to jail for 40 years, here's why
Maxwell's trial started on November 29, when prosecutors branded her a "dangerous predator." "Between 1994 and 2004, the defendant sexually exploited young girls," the prosecutor said in court. "She preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them and served them up to be sexually abused ... The defendant was trafficking kids for sex."
Will Ghislaine Maxwell be put on suicide watch?
Maxwell's defense team hasn't revealed if she will be on suicide watch. It will be determined by the correctional facility and medical professionals, Christine Tartaro, a criminal justice professor at Stockton University who specializes in correctional facility suicides among other topics, told The Sun on Thursday, December 30. The decision to put her under suicide watch will depend on the socialite being evaluated after leaving court. If her lawyer or family members were concerned she would self-harm, they could also put in a request to put her on suicide watch, Tartaro said.
"The corrections department can place her on suicide watch based on their observations. It's very common to be evaluated, even if it’s just back from court. They’re given a suicide screening," Tartaro said. "Any affirmative answer and they can be placed on suicide watch or if correction facilities notice something." One of the most common ways criminals kill themselves in prison is using bed sheets or their clothes -- which is allegedly the way Epstein died in the Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, while he awaited trial.
Before Epstein was found dead in prison, there was a list of errors that followed, including guards who fell asleep. "Supervision is the most important part of protecting inmates from committing suicide," Tartaro said. "That and making sure there’s no opportunity to self harm." The criminal justice professor added that anything can be a tool to self harm. "If you're in a barren room, you become an incredibly creative person. That's why it's important for guards to able to intervene."