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Notes -
Epstein wasn't in general population. He didn't have a cellmate at the time. No other inmates had any access to him unless a guard let him out of his cell and into Epstein's, which we know didn't happen because there's nothing on tape showing that anyone went in the direction of Epstein's cell all night. Unless it's your contention that during the missing three minutes a guard went up the stairs, let one preselected prisoner out of his cell and into Epstein's, waited while the prisoner murdered Epstein and fashioned a noose from bedsheets, then let the prisoner back into his cell and walked downstairs, and somehow everyone who had access to the tape from the Electronics Technician on up the chain was also bought off or intimidated. That behavior goes beyond looking the other way for a few minutes and tends towards being an active participant liable to be indicted for a capital crime.
I don't know what state you're in, but "quite a few" doesn't mean much considering how many COs are in the state. If you're in Vermont, with only 600 officers, even if one was getting caught every week, and there were just as many who didn't get caught, and all were susceptible to bribery, that still leaves at 5/6 chance that the guy you pick doesn't participate and goes to the police, which is more common if you're using intimidation as a tactic and there's nothing in it for the CO. Even in Vermont, someone would have to be getting caught nearly every other day for the odds to even get to 50/50. Remember, you can't just pick the most susceptible guard; you have to pick someone who actually has access to Epstein, and since they don't work alone you need at least two people. So even if half of the guards are compromised you still only have a 25% chance of your gambit not resulting in a lengthy prison sentence, or at least a very uncomfortable conversation with police whereby your powerful employer's cover is completely blown.
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