Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said on Thursday that he believes his former client Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while in a Manhattan federal jail.
“But my own view is that he had made a decision that he would probably spend the rest of his life in prison,” Dershowitz said in an interview on the Law&Crime Network’s Brian Ross Investigates. “He couldn’t bear that reality, and he decided the best way out for him was to take his own life.”
Epstein, 66, an ultra-wealthy convicted sex offender who allegedly abused dozens of underage girls, was newly charged in a federal sex trafficking case in the Southern District of New York. The judge denied bail. The defendant was shortly after injured in a reported suicide attempt, but he was taken off suicide watch, and authorities said he later took off own life by hanging. Medical experts say the reported injuries in Epstein’s neck could be consistent with suicide, but were more likely to fit with homicide. The attorneys who were defending Epstein against sex trafficking charges have suggested that Epstein’s injuries were more consistent with homicide.
Charges against Epstein were formally dropped on Thursday, but the conspiracy charge in his case suggested possible co-defendants. Prosecutors have vowed to continue to pursue justice for the victims in this case. It’s unclear at this time if others in Epstein’s orbit, including former girlfriend and longtime friend Ghislaine Maxwell, will be prosecuted.
Dershowitz was another person in that orbit, though he said Thursday that he hasn’t seen him in years. Virginia Roberts Giuffre says that she was one of Epstein’s victims, and that he made her have sex with Dershowitz. Dershowitz has repeatedly denied allegations, and insisted he never met her. He claimed she was lying. She is currently suing him for defamation. On Thursday, he repeated his attacks against Giuffre and her attorney David Boies.
“It’s a horrible thing to be accused like this,” he said, calling the allegations “vicious lies.”
As for the Epstein suicide, Dershowitz said he had “no doubts,” but an “open mind” about it — if there was evidence that showed something different.
You can watch the full episode of Brian Ross Investigates here:
[Screengrab via Law&Crime Network]
