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Crime

02nd Apr 2022

Judge denies retrial for Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell

Kieran Galpin

She was convicted in December

A US judge has refused Ghislaine Maxwell’s plea for a retrial, choosing instead to uphold her sex trafficking conviction.

Following her conviction in December, Ghislaine Maxwell, 60,  has claimed that one juror lied about being sexually abused in the past, which would no longer make him an impartial juror, reports the BBC.

When prompted on why he failed to disclose his past, the juror said it was an “inadvertent mistake.”

Maxwell

“This is one of the biggest mistakes I have made in my life,” he said. He also claimed to have “flew through” the document and was “super distracted” by everything in the jury room.

US Circuit Judge Alison Nathan announced on April 1 that said juror testified truthfully in a March hearing, citing that they harboured “no bias toward the defendant.”

“His failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate,” the judge said. “The court further concludes that Juror 50 harboured no bias toward the defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial juror.”

Back in February, Maxwell was placed on suicide watch. Prison consultant Justin Paperny told The Times of Maxwell’s accommodation:

Related Links: Ghislaine Maxwell ‘placed on suicide watch’ as she awaits sentencing

He said: “Her case is different because she’s already endured so much time in custody. She’s been in this wretched, dank, cold, filthy detention centre in Brooklyn which has really conditioned her for confinement… she will actually feel like she’s in Disneyland compared to where she is now.”

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