The Federal Bureau of Prisons defended the jail conditions in which Ghislaine Maxwell was kept, stating that she receives three meals a day and is in good health, according to the New York Post.
Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) attorneys said in a letter that Maxwell was treated the same as other inmates, in response to her defense team complaining that she is under unfair conditions, the New York Post reported. Her lawyers claim that the suicide of her alleged co-conspirator Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, while he was in jail, led to the extensive monitoring of Maxwell to ensure that she remains alive. She said she was being treated worse than other pre-trial inmates as a result of Epstein’s suicide.
Judge Allison Nathan said in August there was no basis provided for the Court to determine that the level of surveillance is punitive, according to the New York Post. Maxwell had claimed she was being held under “uniquely onerous” jail conditions while awaiting her trial for charges on her involvement in recruiting underage age girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. She is still being held without bail.
Federal Bureau of Prisons defends Ghislaine Maxwell’s jail conditions https://t.co/6KEpoIiqSz pic.twitter.com/M21R4rPpzW
— New York Post (@nypost) December 7, 2020
MDC attorneys state that the facility aims to ensure the wellbeing of Maxwell without the need to utilize excessive use of surveillance.
“Since Ms. Maxwell’s arrival, she has been provided three meals a day in accordance with BOP policy and its National Menu,” Staff Attorney at MDC Sophia Papapetru wrote in a letter to Manhattan federal Judge Alison Nathan. “Her medical records show that she currently weighs 134 pounds, which fluctuates plus or minus 2 pounds.”
Throughout the day, Maxwell is able to utilize common areas of the facility, the New York Post reported. Recreational space, social calls, television, shower, legal telephone calls, email, computers, and discovery material are all permitted to her at the MDC, according to the filing. She is allowed a maximum of 500 minutes per month of phone calls, which she has used, according to jail lawyers.
Upon returning to her cell, she is provided with a number of snacks, as well as water. The temperature in her cell is checked three times a day to make sure it is heated, the letter to the judge says.
Additionally, Maxwell has been kept out of contact with any inmate that had tested positive for COVID-19, of which there were many. (RELATED: Ghislaine Maxwell Denied Knowing Epstein Had Underage Girls In His Home)
MDC lawyers did not address Maxwell’s complaints of nonstop video surveillance, according to the New York Post.
The 58-year-old socialite said she is unable to sleep well at night as a result of mass surveillance, noting that guards wake her up every 15 minutes with a flashlight to make sure she is still alive, which the BOP has justified.
“MDC Brooklyn correctional staff utilize flashlights when viewing inmates’ cells overnight to ensure inmates are still breathing and not in distress,” the letter says.
Maxwell’s lawyers filed a new motion for her release on bail, which the judge will rule on later this month. She has been in jail since she was arrested in July. At that time, she was denied release on a $5 million bond by the judge.