Ghislaine Maxwell argues she should receive a lighter prison sentence partly because she has been subjected to allegedly horrific conditions while detained at a federal jail in New York during the prosecution of her case, Rolling Stone reports.Maxwell, the longtime friend and accomplice of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted in January of sex trafficking.Lawyers for Maxwell have filed new court papers detailing more than 100 complaints she has made about her experience at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the New York Post.“Ms. Maxwell was subjected to an exceptionally intrusive prison regime which undermined her dignity, health, safety, and psychological well-being,” the 77-page filing states.Maxwell alleges that she was subjected to an increasing number of strip and body-cavity searches and was handcuffed while watching television.“At times, searches were conducted in inappropriate ways and were especially painful, humiliating and intimidating, as when her breasts and genitalia were touched in a rough and reckless manner,” the court document reads.She further claims to have been recorded on video everywhere she went, even in the shower. Jail officers with a hand-held camera allegedly followed her when she was allowed to leave her cell, the court filing states.A fellow inmate allegedly was offered money to strangle Maxwell in her sleep, while jail guards also told her of a concern that she might be shot by a sniper, which lawyers said alarmed Maxwell.The jail also forced Maxwell to keep the lights on in her cell 24 hours per day. Staff would shine a light into her eyes every 15 minutes at night to make sure she was still alive, an apparent effort to prevent what happened to Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019. His death was later ruled a suicide.The court filing further complains of food in the jail, alleging that meals are “meager, stale, often rancid and inedible” and that the water is “foul-smelling and undrinkable.”Maxwell’s attorneys recount the complaints in the court filing to argue for a lighter sentence. She was required to spend 22 months in solitary confinement but was transferred to the general population in May.Maxwell could be sentenced up to 55 years in prison when she goes before a judge later this month. Her lawyers are seeking a prison term of around 5 years, NBC News reports.Loved ones of Maxwell, who was born and raised in Britain, want her to be able to serve the sentence in a prison in the United Kingdom, which they say are more humane, according to the Daily Mail.“The prisons in Britain are far superior to those in the US and the Brits treat prisoners more humanely. The American system is a disgrace,” a source told the Daily Mail.The source added: “If she has to spend time in prison she would rather do it in the UK, where people are treated fairly and with a measure of decency.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is a previous related episode.
[Featured Image: FILE – In this Nov. 7, 1991, file photo, Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of late British publisher Robert Maxwell, reads a statement expressing her family’s gratitude to Spanish authorities after recovery of his body. Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell has been held in U.S. jail since July 2020, and her brother Ian Maxwell said Wednesday March 10, 2021, she should be released on bail, claiming that she was being held in “degrading” conditions that amount to torture. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard, File)]
