Jeffrey Epstein suicide: DOJ responds to Congress

Washington CNN — The Justice Department told lawmakers Friday that Jeffrey Epstein had been placed on suicide watch in July, but was later removed after a psychologist at the Metropolitan Correctional Center determined it “was no longer warranted.” The official confirmation of the move came in a letter sent Friday afternoon to the leaders of the House Judiciary Committee that shed little new light on the ongoing investigations into any mistakes or mismanagement at the Manhattan facility where Epstein hanged himself earlier this month though it provided several details about how the federal prison system deals with inmates considered at risk of suicide. Epstein’s in-custody death drew rare bipartisan opprobrium from Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York and Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Democrat and Republican on the committee, respectively, who listed nearly two dozen questions about the conditions at the Manhattan Correctional Center and slammed “severe miscarriages of or deficiencies in inmate protocol” in a letter to the then-acting head of the Bureau of Prisons. The department also explained that after being moved out of suicide watch, inmates “are returned to regular custody placement, which may include the Special Housing Unit.” Special Housing Units, the kind of cell at the facility where Epstein was held before his death, “are housing units where inmates are securely separated from the general inmate population.” “Placement of inmates in SHU is occasionally required due to safety and security needs of the inmate,” Boyd wrote. While the Justice Department letter did include some information about Epstein’s removal from suicide watch, Boyd wrote that the FBI and Justice Department inspector general were still investigating the matter, and as a result the department was “significantly limited in the amount of information we can release at this time.” This story has beenupdated.