The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: The big takeaway from Epstein case
Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide has ignited a backlash from elected officials and the public who wonder how he could have ever been left unattended in his prison cell long enough to cheat justice.
The news of his death may be of some comfort to his victims, but it also denied them the opportunity to face their abuser in court. Epstein was in a Manhattan prison awaiting trial over charges of sex trafficking minors, to which he had pleaded not guilty.
He had faced similar accusations a decade ago but his lawyers worked out a secret plea deal with Miami-based federal prosecutors in 2008. It let Epstein avoid federal prosecution on charges that he molested teenage girls in favor of a state plea to minor prostitution charges that netted him minimal jail time.

