After being removed from the general population in prison, Ghislaine Maxwell remains on suicide watch hours before her sentencing.
Per NBC News New York, Maxwell's attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, wrote to the court over the weekend, explaining that her client was placed on suicide watch at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center on June 24, and has remained there as of June 27.
Steinheim also said that along with her normal clothing and legal papers being removed, Maxwell was given a "suicide smock" to wear but maintained that her client "is not suicidal."
In response, per NBC News, prosecutors wrote to the court on June 26, stating that Maxwell herself e-mailed the Bureau of Prison's Inspect General [IG] on June 24, saying that she "feared MDC staff members were threatening her safety."
In their letter, prosecutors explained that per the jail's policy, when inmates are at a heightened risk of self-harm and raise a safety concern, they are put on suicide watch, adding that at least "two other inmates recently experienced the same protocol."
"Although the defendant has claimed to psychology staff that she is not suicidal," prosecutors stated. "She has refused to answer psychology staff's questions regarding the threat she reported to the IG."
The statement continued, "Given the defendant's inconsistent accounts to the IG and to psychology staff, the Chief Psychologist assesses the defendant to be at additional risk of self-harm, as it appears she may be attempting to be transferred to a single cell where she can engage in self-harm."
According to legal filings obtained by NBC News, Sternheim told the court that she was considering asking for a delay in the sentencing due to Maxwell couldn't review necessary legal documents. However, Judge Alison Nathan stated that she has spoken directly to the warden of the jail where Maxwell is awaiting sentencing and confirmed that she had access to her legal documents and a "writing implement."
In December 2021, Maxwell was found guilty on five charges in connection to recruiting and grooming four teenage girls between 1994 and 2004 for Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender who died in 2019 in jail while awaiting his trial for sex trafficking charges.
The five charges included: conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, as well as two counts of perjury. A jury acquitted Maxwell of one count, enticement of a minor to travel and engage in illegal sex acts.
Prosecutors are seeking a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of 55 years in prison. Maxwell's sentencing hearing is set for June 28.
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