Negligence and misconduct led to Jeffrey Epstein’s death in jail, says watchdog

Jeffrey Epstein took his own life while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)

The Justice Department’s watchdog said on Tuesday that a “combination of negligence and misconduct” enabled financier Jeffrey Epstein to take his own life at a federal jail in New York City while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Inspector general Michael Horowitz cited the federal Bureau of Prisons’ failure to assign Epstein a cellmate after his previous one left and problems with surveillance cameras as factors in Epstein’s death.