Prisons director demoted over Epstein death

U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Monday reassigned the director of the agency in charge of the federal prison where billionaire and accused sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. Hugh Hurwitz will go from acting director of the Bureau of Prisons to a deputy in charge of reentry programs for prisoners.

Why was Hurwitz demoted? Reports have surfaced of deplorable conditions (think rats and raw sewage) at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York City, where Epstein was awaiting trial on charges of sexually abusing teenage girls. Authorities suspect the guards who were supposed to monitor Epstein left him unattended the morning of his death and falsified log entries to cover their tracks. The FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general are investigating the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, which New York’s medical examiner officially ruled a suicide on Friday.