Ghislaine Maxwell files massive 113-page lawsuit over ‘fatal errors’ that could lead to her going free

Ghislaine Maxwell has filed an appeal in hopes of overturning her 20-year sentence for helping disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein abuse four teenage girls.

In the lawsuit, Maxwell’s lawyers argued that “fatal” errors in the case against her should be considered sufficient to overturn her conviction and that the prosecution used her as Epstein’s “confidant” after his death.

“This was done to satisfy public outrage over an unpopular agreement to non-prosecute and kill the person responsible for the crimes,” lawyer Arthur Aydala wrote, according to Law & Crime.

“In their eagerness to place the blame for their incompetence and Epstein’s crimes on Maxwell, the government broke its promise not to prosecute Maxwell, accused her of statutory crimes, revived and reformulated decades-old accusations of conduct previously attributed to Epstein. and other named aides, and also joined forces with the plaintiffs’ civil attorneys, whose interests were financial, to develop new charges that would support the charges against Maxwell, ”her lawyers said in a statement.

In addition, her lawyers contend, the jury was tainted by the presence of a juror who was molested as a child but did not report it on the pre-trial questionnaire, according to the New York Post.

They also allege that the inhumane conditions of her imprisonment during the trial, which included “allegations of uncleaned sewage, sleep and water deprivation, and hypersurveillance” according to Reuters, were so egregious that they left her too “disoriented and depressed.” contribute to your own defense.

Finally, the lawyers argued that the trial should never have taken place because Maxwell was subject to a non-prosecution agreement at the time.

“The government violated the non-prosecution agreement that protected Ms. Maxwell from these crimes. This agreement was entered into by the government and Epstein in 2007 and, under its terms, expressly prohibited this prosecution,” they wrote.

Judge Alison J. Nathan sentenced Maxwell to 20 years in June, a sentence that, if carried out in its entirety, guaranteed the now 61-year-old woman would likely spend most of the rest of her life in prison, The New reported. York Times at the time. .

Last December, Maxwell was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking. Epstein died in a New York metropolitan detention center while awaiting his own trial.

“Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing,” U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said in pre-sentencing arguments, according to a separate New York Times report. “She manipulated her victims and prepared them for sexual assault.”

Several victims of the British heiress testified before the sentencing of Maxwell. Epstein’s victim’s lawyer, Virginia Giuffre, read a statement on her behalf.

“I would never have met Jeffrey Epstein if it weren’t for you,” the statement said. You deserve to spend the rest of your life in a prison cell.

“You deserve to be trapped in a cage,” she added.

The prosecution criticized what it described as Maxwell’s lack of remorse and refusal to take responsibility for her crimes.

The prosecution wanted a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of 55 years, while the defense insisted that Maxwell serve four to five years in federal prison, the Times reported.

You can read the full text of the appeal here:

Maxwell Address 22823 from The Western Journal on Scribd

Maxwell, now 61, is currently in a low-security federal prison near Tallahassee, Fla., The Post notes.