Ghislaine Maxwell put on suicide watch ahead of sentencing, lawyer says
- The British socialite was removed from the general population of inmates at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre and placed in solitary confinement
- Prosecutors argue Maxwell deserves a term of as many as 55 years behind bars for a sex trafficking scheme involving seven victims
Bobbi Sternheim, a lawyer for Maxwell, said in a letter to the judge slated to sentence the socialite on June 28 that she was removed on Friday from the general population of inmates at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre and placed in solitary confinement.
Sternheim said that Maxwell isn’t allowed any pen or paper and was placed on the watch “without justification,” and warned that she may seek a postponement of her sentencing date.
“If Ms. Maxwell remains on suicide watch, is prohibited from reviewing legal materials before sentencing, becomes sleep deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel, we will be formally moving on Monday for an adjournment,” Sternheim said in a letter late Saturday to US Circuit Judge Alison Nathan, who’s presiding over the case.
Maxwell loses bid to toss sex trafficking conviction, as sentencing looms
While Maxwell, 60, was given a “suicide smock,” Sternheim said that a psychologist met with the socialite on Saturday and concluded that she “is not suicidal.”
Maxwell was convicted by a federal jury in Manhattan in December on five counts, including sex trafficking of a minor.
Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which is prosecuting Maxwell, declined to comment about Sternheim’s letter.
