# Do you think Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572 "2019-08-12T19:05:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/61 "2019-08-14T10:38:08Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > There is no doubt in my mind that many Americans, doubtless more than a few right here on the Straight Dope, would gladly give ol’ Uncle Jeffie a “Get Out Of Jail Free, No Hard Feelings Sir, Here’s My 17 Year-Old Drug Addled Niece’s Phone Number” card for anything that would bring down Trump. There is no doubt in my mind that you genuinely believe that. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/62 "2019-08-14T10:43:51Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > This would prevent his ultra expensive properties around the world from being seized in order to provide civil compensation to his victims. Wrong. The civil case proceeds. Epstein’s victims are going to pick his estate clean like leopards on a zebra carcass. In fact… though Epstein’s criminal complained is now moot, his death strengthens the civil case against him, and the criminal case against others. As of Epstein’s death, no living person has grounds for a 4th-amendment challenge to any search warrant against Epstein’s estate. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/63 "2019-08-14T11:30:54Z")
I think a number of people in this thread are forgetting the lessons learned from the Sandra Bland case; “the jailers killed him/gave him the rope” is far less likely than “the jailers were overworked and underequipped”. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/64 "2019-08-14T11:50:20Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I voted “Not Sure” - it’s entirely plausible that he killed himself (on his own or with “prompting”) given what he was facing, but if even some of the stories about him are true there were a lot of powerful people (not all American) who stood to have their dirty little secrets revealed. So suicide or murder are both plausible explanations. > > I’m not sold on the whole “He’s not really dead; this is all a coverup and he’s been spirited away” story, however. Far easier and less risky for Epstein to be really dead. Yeah, this. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/65 "2019-08-14T12:45:45Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I think a number of people in this thread are forgetting the lessons learned from the Sandra Bland case; “the jailers killed him/gave him the rope” is far less likely than “the jailers were overworked and underequipped”. That is very possible, but it seems frankly bizarre that Jeffrey Epstein, possibly the highest-risk and highest-profile inmate in custody, would have been treated with the same neglect as Sandra Bland. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/66 "2019-08-14T14:00:53Z")
I don’t see why it’s hard to believe that a old rich guy whose life is about to go from yacht parties and sexual thrills to steel bars and constant threats and who has just been shoved into solitary confinement in a prison that’s constantly getting sued for inhumane conditions would try to kill himself, and that since said prison is so badly understaffed that he wouldn’t be getting regular checks that he’d succeed. I’m sure quite a few people wanted him dead and pushed for him to end up where he did in hopes of that happening, but I don’t see that there has to be an actual hit on him involved. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/67 "2019-08-14T14:10:07Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I do think he killed himself. I also think it was intentionally made possible for him to do so. This, but we may not agree on the reason. It seems unlikely to have been arranged by an uncharged (yet) accomplice who needed his own protection, since he could have been dealt with much more quietly and much earlier. Most probably, the guards and warden quietly agreed that it was appropriate for this child-raping scum to clean up the matter himself. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/68 "2019-08-14T14:33:57Z")
I absolutely believe he committed suicide. I also absolutely believe nobody in charge gave enough of a shit to prevent it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/69 "2019-08-14T14:46:36Z")
I totally believe that the guards were inept, understaffed, and overworked. I’ve had a lot of friends and relatives who worked in corrections over the years and it’s a crappy job that nobody wants to do, they’ll hire just about anybody, and because of that you can get as much overtime as you want. Because the prisons are funded by taxes and run by the gov’t they are often run down, face regular budget cuts, and get over crowded. Suicide proof rooms and sheets with 24/7 hi-tech surveillance by highly trained staff is just a thing out of the movies. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/70 "2019-08-14T15:00:36Z")
There are reports now that the two guards who were assigned to watch Epstein fell asleep for more than three hours, then falsified their reports. They have been placed on administrative leave and face possible criminal charges and the warden has been reassigned. I do hope the guards are prosecuted to the fullest extent. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/71 "2019-08-14T15:07:25Z")
If you mean did he decide for internal reasons to end his own life? No. It’s pretty easy for me to believe he was murdered either directly by another person, or that he was coerced (Turn out the lights or your family is going out horribly). I’d call both of those murder. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/72 "2019-08-14T15:16:30Z")
I was just on the phone with my aunt, and she asked “Do you believe in the official story?” and I replied, “They keep changing it”. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if someone killed him, or sent him off to israel, where he can get plastic surgery. People have been lied to about much bigger things (every war in the last few generations), so I give them no credibility. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/73 "2019-08-14T15:37:55Z")
I think that the simplest explanation is that he killed himself. But that would not have been possible, but for multiple irregularities in the system. And I think that the simplest explanation for those irregularities is that someone in a position of power ordered those irregularities. Sure, the prison he was in was overworked and understaffed. But let’s not forget that the people in authority specifically chose to move him to that prison. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/74 "2019-08-14T16:12:35Z")
I can believe in sleepy guards much more easily than I can believe in any of the three preceding theories. Most organizations are like your state’s Motor Vehicles office. In other words, a massive clusterfuck. No one really is in power. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/75 "2019-08-14T16:26:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sure, the prison he was in was overworked and understaffed. But let’s not forget that the people in authority specifically chose to move him to that prison. What prison (technically, jail, since he hadn’t been convicted) could they have put him in that ISN’T overworked and understaffed and operated with all of the efficiency of a mid-80s DMV? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/76 "2019-08-14T16:33:09Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I don’t see why it’s hard to believe that a old rich guy whose life is about to go from yacht parties and sexual thrills to steel bars and constant threats and who has just been shoved into solitary confinement in a prison that’s constantly getting sued for inhumane conditions would try to kill himself, and that since said prison is so badly understaffed that he wouldn’t be getting regular checks that he’d succeed. I’m sure quite a few people wanted him dead and pushed for him to end up where he did in hopes of that happening, but I don’t see that there has to be an actual hit on him involved. It is not hard to believe that, no. It is also not hard to believe that somebody offed the son of a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/77 "2019-08-14T16:49:54Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > It is not hard to believe that, no. > > It is also not hard to believe that somebody offed the son of a bitch. It’s hard for me to believe that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/78 "2019-08-14T18:45:50Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I can believe in sleepy guards much more easily than I can believe in any of the three preceding theories. Most organizations are like your state’s Motor Vehicles office. In other words, a massive clusterfuck. No one really is in power. And this is the most easily believed and most probable cause of it all. Having stood late night watches in the military after a hard day’s work, I know that sleep just overcomes you at some point. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time these guys slept while on duty, and not the first time they fudged the records. This time it will cost them their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/79 "2019-08-14T18:55:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And this is the most easily believed and most probable cause of it all. Having stood late night watches in the military after a hard day’s work, I know that sleep just overcomes you at some point. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time these guys slept while on duty, and not the first time they fudged the records. This time it will cost them their jobs. And most likely, their freedom. I believe the federal government can press charges for falsifying their logs. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572/80 "2019-08-14T19:21:10Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > It is not hard to believe that, no. > > It is also not hard to believe that somebody offed the son of a bitch. It is, if you look at it reasonably. What evidence is there, exactly, of someone taking positive steps to “off the son of a bitch” in some active way? What motive would they have for taking the high risk option of an assassination rather than the low-risk option of putting him into a place where he’s very likely to commit suicide and where the overworked guards will take the fall if he does? Even if someone did want to off him, wouldn’t it make sense to wait a week or two to see if he’d succumb to inhumane conditions and absent guards before pulling the trigger? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jeffrey-epstein-committed-suicide/838572.md?page=5)