AG Barr names new federal prison director in continuing leadership make-over after Jeffrey Epstein suicide
WASHINGTON– Attorney General William Barr appointed a new director of the federal prison system Tuesday, continuing a leadership makeover following the August suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Michael Carvajal, a career Bureau of Prisons official who had been serving as an assistant director, was elevated to the top spot to succeed Kathleen Hawk Sawyer. Barr had appointed Hawk Sawyer to serve as director in the days after Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell, prompting a bureau-wide shakeup of the nation's largest prison system.
Hawk Sawyer served a previous term as director before being tapped again in August. Part of her short second tenure, Barr said, was to assist in identifying a "permanent director."
"I am grateful for Kathy’s service and that she has agreed to stay on as a senior advisor to assist the bureau with this transition," Barr said.
Carvajal began his career in 1992 as a corrections officer and has steadily risen in ranks since then, serving as a lieutenant, captain, associate warden and warden. He was promoted as director of the agency's Northeast Region in 2016.
"Michael’s nearly 30 years of experience with the bureau will serve him exceptionally well as he takes on these new responsibilities, and I am confident he will do an outstanding job as director," Barr said.
Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial following last month's indictment on charges of sex trafficking and sex-trafficking conspiracy. Federal prosecutors alleged that he "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, and at other locations from 2002-2005.
He was found unresponsive in his cell in August at the federal detention center in Manhattan and transported to nearby New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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The suicide launched three federal investigations, one resulting in the indictment of two officers who were charged with falsifying records, stating they had checked on disgraced financier in the hours before he hanged himself.
Republican and Democrat lawmakers said the suicide underscored deeper problems within the vast prison system which has struggled with persistent staffing shortages.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the suicide a "profound indictment of the system," while Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the Epstein death exposed a "crisis of public trust" within the agency.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AG Barr names new federal prison director in continuing make-over
