Addendum discussing Epstein's MCC suicide and extradition prison conditions

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Addendum to Epstein Report¶

I have reviewed the U.S. Government’s Response dated September 13, 2019, regarding the August 2019, suicide of Jeffrey Epstein at the MCC New York. Specifically, the U.S. Attorney describes all the safeguards/protocols that are supposed to take place when an inmate is suicidal. Unfortunately, those exact safeguards were in place the night of Epstein’s suicide; however, for reasons not yet completely clear, those safeguards were not followed. Under ideal conditions, these safeguards/protocols are intended to happen when an inmate is suicidal, yet we know there are no ideal situations in prison. The death of Jeffrey Epstein clearly demonstrates that, regardless of written procedures, best efforts and good intentions, when an inmate is intent on committing suicide, he/she will be successful.¶

Additionally, I have reviewed the Affidavit of Pedro Espada, from Case 1:16-cv-06121-RRM-PK, Lauri Love v. USA, 10/27/2016. In Mr. Espada’s Affidavit, he describes inhumane and unconstitutional conditions at MDC Brooklyn, NY, specifically, the Suicide Watch Area, while he was an inmate there and was working as a Suicide Watch Companion.¶

Mr. Espada stated, while working as a Suicide Watch Companion at MDC, he witnessed a severely mentally ill inmate, who was on a suicide watch, smear feces throughout his cell. The inmate was rubbing the feces into open wounds and cuts on his body. Mr. Espada made several attempts to get the area cleaned and medical assistance rendered, requesting aid from the Lieutenant’s Office, Medical Department and others. He stated that his requests for assistance not only were ignored, but that the inmate sat in those filthy living conditions for seven days. Certainly, that situation seems unconscionable, but in my experience, I have encountered staff who had the mindset, “he made the mess, let him clean it.” I have not witnessed a full 7 days of an inmate living in these horrific conditions as Espada describes, but I absolutely believe that it happens. When things like this occur, it is not necessarily the result of an inmate being mentally ill. Inmates will act out as a means of manipulation or as a way to gain attention. While I personally would not allow an inmate to live in these filthy and unsanitary¶

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conditions, there are others who believe in the idea of “you made your bed, now you can lie in it.” It is most unfortunate, especially when dealing with an inmate who is mentally ill and not in a coherent state of mind. One can continue to provide training to staff on proper procedures to take in various situations, hold staff accountable when mistakes are made or when they display an indifference toward inmates, but to try and change the ingrained mindset of an individual would be an arduous, if not impossible task.¶

There is a very concerning detail that has been made public since the investigation of Epstein’s suicide began. A person familiar with MCC has stated the staff who were working the morning of his death, are suspected of falsifying log entries to indicate they were checking on inmates in his unit every half hour, when they actually were not. I have been advised that at least one of the staff working that night were sleeping. Surveillance video reviewed after Epstein’s death showed staff never made some of the checks noted in the log, according to the person familiar with the investigation. Policy requires checks be made every 30 minutes for all inmates housed in the Special Housing Unit.¶

Dr. , MCC Chief Psychologist and Dr. BOP Medical Director both provided Declarations in Mr. Motiwala’s case, previously to the Court. Dr. continues to work at MCC in her position as Chief Psychologist and I understand Dr. remains in his position as Medical Director.¶

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IN THE WESTMINSTER MAGISTRATES’ COURT¶

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA¶

JABIR MOTIWALA (aka JABIR SIDDIQ aka JABIR MOTI)¶

3rd Request for Further Information¶

Introduction¶

1. The Government of the United States of America has issued a request for the extradition of Jabir Motiwala, also known as Jabir Moti or Jabir Siddiq（‘the defendant’）。The Request, dated 5 October 2018, is that the defendant be extradited in order that he stand trial upon an indictment containing the following three counts: one count of ‘Conspiracy to commit money laundering’, one count of ‘Conspiracy to collect credit extensions by extortionate means’; and one count of ‘Conspiracy to import narc2otics into the United States’.

2. The defendant was arrested on 17 August 2018 and remains in custody. We are grateful for all the assistance provided in preparing this case to date.

3. The extradition hearing proceeded on 1-3 July 2019 and was adjourned to 12 July 2019 for a case management hearing. On that date the District Judge directed that further written submissions be served by 19 August 2019, with final oral submissions scheduled for $ 26^{th} $ September 2019.

4. At the case management hearing the District Judge indicated that he may consider making further inquiries about prison conditions pursuant to a process laid down in the case of Chawla v India [2018] EWHC 1050, §47. $ ^{1} $

1 The Divisional Court in that case set out that where a real risk of inhuman and degrading treatment in a particular requesting state has been found to exist by a Court considering an extradition request, the requesting state should be given the opportunity to satisfy the Court that the risk “can be discounted” by issuing an assurance.¶

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5. The District Judge stated that he had not made any finding either way but if, subsequent to the service of written submissions on 19 August 2019, he did conclude that the evidence disclosed a real risk of the defendant experiencing inhuman and degrading conditions, he would be likely to request further information or an assurance within a relatively short period.

6. For that reason we had a telephone conference to discuss how the US authorities might address the issues raised by the defence and were grateful to receive your letter dated 16 August 2019.

7. However, on 13 August 2019 we received a message from the judge asking us to attend for a further hearing to discuss how to proceed in the light of the widely reported suicide of Jeffrey Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre (“MCC”) on 11 August 2019.

8. Counsel attended Court on 23 August 2019 and the Judge indicated that he would incorporate into the timetable directions for the defence to serve further evidence on that particular issue and would require information from the United States about what had happened at MCC after the death of Mr Epstein.

9. The defence served a selection of news articles about Mr Epstein’s death, a new report from Maureen Baird which we will provide a copy of, as well as a schedule of the news articles, which we will also provide to you. It is likely that in order to send this case to the Secretary of State for extradition to be ordered, the Judge will require either a response to the specific issues raised or a general response assuring him that improvements have been made which will prevent a similar occurrence in the case of the defendant.

10. We appreciate that there are various ongoing investigations at the MCC and the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) generally so some information will be too sensitive to share in these proceedings. In light of this please either provide answers to the specific questions set out below or provide information in such a way as you are able to, to meet the issues and concerns arising from the death of Mr Epstein and the new defence material.

11. The Judge is likely to consider the evidence regarding Mr Epstein very pertinent to this case given the defendant’s reportedly high risk of suicide.

Questions:¶

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i. With regards to the warden of the MCC and two staff members whom are said to have been reassigned since the death of Mr Epstein, are you able to confirm that their roles have been filled with suitable alternatives? In particular please provide any information about the knowledge and experience of the new warden that you are able to. [page 1, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019]¶

ii. Is it possible to comment on the decision to take Mr Epstein off suicide watch and whether either, that decision was justified in the circumstances or if considered to be the wrong decision, that new measures are now in place to ensure any mistakes are not repeated. Please detail any new measures on this particular issue now in place if you are able to. [page 2, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019]¶

iii. Can you provide any explanation as to why Mr Epstein did not have a new inmate sharing his cell in the Special Housing Unit (“SHU”) on 9 August 2019 after his other cellmate was moved? Do you accept that there should have been someone sharing his cell in light of his recent apparent suicide attempt? If so, have any new protocols been put in place to ensure this does not happen again? If you do not accept that this occurred or cannot comment on this directly, what general measures are in place to ensure people who have been moved to the SHU following a suicide attempt share a cell with others where possible? [page 2, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019]¶

iv. Is it correct that the two correctional officers due to be carrying out half-hourly checks on Mr Epstein did not carry out any check upon him for a period of several hours before he was discovered in his cell and were instead sleeping? If you accept this is correct what steps have been taken, if any, to prevent this occurring in future? If you do not accept that this occurred or cannot comment on this directly, what general measures are in place to monitor those who have been moved to the SHU following a suicide attempt, and how is it ensured that those measures are safely carried out by staff members? [page 2/3, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019]¶

v. Is it correct that the correctional officers concerned falsified records in regards to the checks they should have carried out? If you accept this is correct what steps have been taken if any to prevent this occurring in future? If you do not accept that this occurred or cannot comment on this directly, what general measures if any are in¶

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place to ensure correctional officers do not falsify records and carry out their duties as required with regards to those who have been moved to the SHU following a suicide attempt? [page 3, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019].¶

vi. Ms Baird, as well as a number of news reports, state that of the two staff members assigned to monitor Mr Epstein, one of them was not usually a corrections officer but rather was employed by the warehouse and had volunteered to work an extra shift. If you accept this is correct, do you consider it to be appropriate to have such staff members carrying out that type of task and if so what measures are in place to ensure they are able to carry out that particular role safely? If you do not accept that this occurred or cannot comment on this directly, what general measures if any are in place to ensure staff members who do not usually work as correctional officers carry out the task of monitoring those who have been moved to the SHU following a suicide attempt in a safe manner? [page 3, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019]¶

vii. In a news article, it is said that the BOP had tried to address staffing shortages “in part by using a practice called augmentation to temporarily assign employees who aren’t corrections officers to staff posts intended for detention guards”. Do you accept that this occurred at the MCC? If so, is this practice still in place and what general measures if any are in place to ensure staff members who do not usually work as correctional officers are able to safely carry out the work of correctional officers, (for example do they receive special training on security or monitoring prisoners considered to be a suicide risk). [CNN Politics Website, “Union and lawmakers have long warned of ‘dire’ federal prison staffing shortages”, 14 August 2019]¶

viii. Ms Baird, as well as a number of news reports, state that of the two staff members assigned to monitor Mr Epstein, one of them (the corrections officer) had been working overtime and the other staff member was in the midst of an 80 hour week. Do you agree that many of the correctional officers at the MCC are required to work 60 – 70 hour weeks and if so what measures, if any, are in place to ensure that the prison is still run safely and suicidal prisoners are properly monitored? [page 3, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019]¶

ix. Ms Baird further states that the MCC is currently operating with less than 70% of the needed correctional officers. Do you accept that the MCC is operating with less than 70% of the needed correctional officers and if not, how would you describe the¶

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current staffing levels? If you agree that the MCC is 70% staffed, what measures, if any, are in place to ensure that the prison is still run safely and suicidal prisoners are properly monitored? [page 3, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019].¶

x. Ms Baird states that the MCC was designed to house 474 inmates but that on the day of Mr Epstein’s death its population was 763. Do you agree with those figures, and if so is the prison able to safely house that sized population, and what measures, if any, are in place to deal with a prison population of that size and ensure the conditions they are housed in remain humane? [page 14, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019].¶

xi. Ms Baird states the following with regards to the sanitation conditions at MCC:¶

“Three current MCC Staff Members very recently described to me the current sanitation conditions at the facility. One stated, “The facility is so disgusting it’s like a prison in a third-world country. Cleaning supplies are not issued on a regular basis.” The individual further advised, “Pest Control is horrible and ineffective, rats, mice and bugs are everywhere.” Another Correctional Officer told me, “There are mice and bugs everywhere including inmates’ cells.” This information is consistent with my Court testimony on July 3, 2019, and my assessment in Paragraph 20 of my Declaration in the case of Mr. Motiwala. Further, it corroborates the many news reports, regarding the “rodent-infested MCC.”¶

Do you have any comment to make on those observations? [page 15, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019].¶

xii. Ms Baird further states:¶

“On a different, yet equally concerning topic, an MCC Correctional Officer advised me this past week, that there is blatant racial discord within the institution, especially amongst Correctional Officers. I did not witness this when I was Warden at MCC, and my contact advises it began a short time following my departure.”¶

Do you have any comment to make on those observations? [page 15, Maureen Baird’s Report, dated 22 August 2019].¶

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