On July 6, 2019 Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on suspicion of involvement in sex trafficking minors. Epstein was a millionaire financier. He started his career as an options trader, advising clients on tax strategies which proved successful for him. Later, he successfully started his own business, “J Epstein & Company.” As he grew in wealth, his connections grew as well. He was known as a friend to Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump. Over a decade ago, in 2005, Epstein was arrested on claims that he had sexually abused a 14 year old girl. After pleading guilty of this charge, he was convicted again in 2008 of soliciting a prostitute and procuring an underage female for prostitution.

On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead after allegedly committing suicide. Epstein was placed on suicide watch after a previous suicide attempt, wherein his cell mate prevented his death. However, authorities at the federal prison he was held in removed his cell mate for unknown reasons shortly after Epstein’s suicide attempt. The reason this suicide is receiving so much media attention is due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding it. For example, when on suicide watch, an inmate is supposed to be checked on every thirty minutes. Allegedly, Epstein hadn’t been checked on for hours on end. Reports confirm that the guards watching Epstein were working overtime for the days prior to Epstein’s death. When forensics examined Epstein’s body to determine the cause of death, they found several broken bones in his neck which are rare in suicides but common in strangulation. These circumstances combined lead the public to believe, with the nature of his crimes and his affiliates, Epstein was murdered in order to prevent him from naming his accomplices. According to Attorney General William Barr, “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation. We will get to the bottom of it, and there will be accountability.”

All of this information is horrendous, but why should students at GHS care? Somehow, Epstein was able to commit various acts in remote places with underage girls for years without repercussions. Epstein was affiliated with many powerful figures over the years who were even seen with some of Epstein’s victims. Epstein even went as far as to lure powerful, rich men, to his island and have prostitutes engage in elicit activities and record the act without the knowledge of those involved. He would then use these tapes to blackmail the men. Senior Timothy Boswinkle said, “Epstein is obviously affiliated with a variety of people in powerful positions who seem to be doing Epstein favors asking little to nothing in return. This seem suspicious, especially given the circumstances. I think we should all be concerned as to how something like this could have happened in the first place,  how blatantly Epstein abused our justice system, and how we can use this situation to prevent this from happening again.” When students and citizens alike show that they won’t stay silent about the sketchy behavior following Epstein’s death, they show that the truth matters and that the people are going to find out the truth.