Epstein Suicide Highlights Prison System Incompetence
The recent “suicide” of Jeffrey Epstein while in Federal custody has sparked a tremendous number of conspiracy theories surrounding the incident. The theory of choice seems to depend on one’s political leanings. Everyone from the Clintons, to Trump, to the Russians have been implicated in the loss of this key witness (and likely perpetrator) of sex trafficking crimes. I have to admit, the scenario does smell funny and my mind is open to wherever the evidence leads.
That said, Occam’s Razor is where I typically begin my own thought process. The simplest answer is often the most likely. In my mind, that simply points back to government incompetence. The prison system in the United States is not immune from my general critique of government. Evidence abounds on just how poorly run and frequently counterproductive the system is, but sadly many of my fellow conservatives seem to give it a pass for fear of being labeled “soft on crime”.
To bring light to another example, one closer to home, the following excerpt is from a letter sent to me last month by an inmate in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. It is just one of many such stories which showcase the absolute ineptitude of what is actually going on behind the fences.
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Last Sunday was very interesting. At 10:30pm I was rolling over to go to sleep when my roommate and I heard an awful mess outside. He said, “You should get up”. I looked and behold, a naked black guy was convulsing in a pool of blood. Nobody was working the desk, so I immediately set off the fire alarm with baby powder in the smoke head. The alarm sounded for 40 minutes with no response. We repeatedly tried calling people to get family to call here and request help, but with the voice recognition on our pin # now, the blaring alarm prohibited any calls out. Several called *22. (*22 is the direct line to Columbia that inmates can supposedly use to report issues and bypass dealing with employees on site who are frequently part of the problem. The answering machine is usually full, so it’s effectiveness is questionable at best.)
Finally after 40 minutes the horns stopped. Reason? The fuse blew. I was able to call out at 11:10pm, minutes before the phones are cut off at 11:15. My Aunt called here and officers arrived a full hour after the incident began. One guy’s family called 911 and had an ambulance sent down. If it had been a fire, we all would be dead. I am filing a grievance to have SCDC implement a star number for us to contact the control room in an emergency. It would require us to enter our SCDC number and pin to avoid abuse of it. Something has to change…and now.
The guy was on a dope high, so he recovered, but had it been a heart attack or stroke, a life would have been lost. A guy in another dorm died 3 weeks ago of a heart attack on the toilet and it was an hour before he was found by a CO. They blame phones and gangs for all their problems, but who is to blame for them not doing their job? Why haven’t they been in a dorm in 4 hours? Why was the fire alarm ignored?
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This is not an isolated incident in SCDC. Not only do drugs run rampant, but what little staff there is borders on complete incompetence.
Did Epstein commit suicide or was there foul play? I’m not rendering a guess at this point, but I am encouraging people to not overlook the very real possibility that a suicide would be possible in an organization as mismanaged as the prison system.