Billionaire financier and alleged sex trafficker and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead by apparent suicide in a New York federal jail, multiple news sources reported on Saturday morning.
While It may be tempting to react with a shrug and tweet "good riddance," Epstein's apparent suicide is a failure of our justice system and robs his accusers of their chance to see justice done. Without a full trial and guilty plea or conviction, every time one of his accusers sees his name in the media, it will be accompanied by the words "allegedly," "accused," or "charged with," instead of the words "guilty" and "convicted."
Nobody should die in jail before their trial, not even somebody charged with crimes as repugnant as the ones Epstein was accused of. Everybody deserves a fair trial and, if found guilty, a lawful conviction.
What's worse is that Epstein was previously injured in jail once before his death. Why wasn't such a high-profile prisoner under stricter supervision after what could have been a failed suicide attempt? Robbed of their chance to see justice done in court, Epstein's accusers now deserve to know how and why the justice system failed them.
Epstein's death is also all but guaranteed to become conspiracy theory fodder due to his connections and relationships with high-profile political families including the Clintons and the Trumps, as well as handling of billions of dollars for some of the world's wealthiest individuals. His first injury in jail was already the subject of conspiracies — and with his death, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is likely lost forever.