Could Harvey Weinstein kill himself in prison after trial like Epstein did?
Disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, who’s currently serving a twenty-three-year sentence after being found guilty of rape, is now under close monitorization in his cell. Reports initially stated Weinstein was being monitored for his health after he started having symptoms of a fever. However, TMZ now reports officers have increased surveillance out of fear of another Epstein incident.
Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his jail cell in August 2019, according to officials. Due in large part to weakened surveillance, failures of following protocol, and other seemingly coincidental mishaps, Epstein was by himself and there are no recordings of his death, leaving people to speculate whether Epstein actually killed himself.
To ensure nothing like the Epstein incident happens to Harvey Weinstein, guards are reportedly amping up security & surveillance. Here’s the latest on Weinstein’s time in prison and why he’s being monitored so closely by both medical officials & his prison guards.
Heavily monitored cell
On November 17th, Weinstein’s publicists announced Weinstein was being “closely monitored” when he started getting symptoms from a fever. At the time, Weinstein’s publicist Juda Englemeyer & his health representative Craig Rothfield said they could “neither confirm nor deny” whether Weinstein tested positive for the coronavirus, but, as of November 19th, Deadline reported Weinstein tested negative for COVID-19.
The statement from Weinstein’s representatives said Weinstein was being “closely monitored by the excellent medical staff”. According to his team, Weinstein has “numerous maladies and conditions including a heart condition, high blood pressure, and spinal stenosis”.
Also on November 19th, his representatives revealed his fever had dropped and is continuing to be monitored because of his “plethora of underlying health issues” they say are “continuing to decline, get worse, and need treatment”.
Rumors of an Epstein repeat
TMZ was the first to report the possibility of the increased monitorization was due to worries Weinstein could commit suicide, similar to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While many have speculated Epstein didn’t kill himself, officials maintain Epstein committed suicide in his cell by hanging himself with a bedsheet. Nevertheless, law enforcement sources told TMZ a correctional officer must follow Weinstein everywhere he moves.
Weinstein is being held at the Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York. TMZ revealed officers don’t want Weinstein to leave their sight in fear of Weinstein committing suicide or harming himself. Though Epstein was held at Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, the Wende jailhouse seems to want to avoid the controversies MCC faced following Epstein’s death.
Though there isn’t any confirmation from Weinstein’s team nor the prison he’s staying at, TMZ reported their sources are determined to keep out of any criminal liability by constantly watching Weinstein with “round-the-clock” surveillance.
What happened to Epstein?
Epstein’s death has faced a whirlwind of speculation due to the circumstances surrounding the day of Epstein’s death. Prior to the day of his death, Epstein was put on suicide watch after an incident in Epstein’s cell. Guards found Epstein semiconscious in his cell with suspicious marks around his neck on July 23, 2019, according to NBC News. He was subsequently put on suicide watch for six days.
After taken off of suicide watch he was reportedly in “good spirits”, according to The Washington Post. However, the jail’s protocols were broken shortly afterward. For one, after a cellmate was transferred out of Epstein’s cell, no one came to replace them. Second, guards were reportedly asleep and didn’t check on him for hours. Epstein was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on August 10th.
Even more suspiciously, guards falsified records about his case, and the crime scene wasn’t properly taken care of. According to CNBC, Attorney General Bill Barr said there were “serious irregularities” in the investigation of Epstein’s death. In addition, surveillance cameras around his cell were either deemed unusable or were malfunctioning on the day of Epstein’s death.
