Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has filed a new lawsuit seeking to overturn her convictions and be released from prison, according to court records made public on Wednesday (Dec 17). Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence, filed the motion in a Manhattan federal court, claiming that she did not receive a "fair trial". The 63-year-old British socialite was sentenced in 2022 after being found guilty of multiple crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor, for her role in recruiting underage girls for Epstein. Epstein, whose network of abuse spanned years and continents, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
On what basis?
In her latest filing, Maxwell argues that "newly discovered evidence" shows she "did not receive a fair trial by independent jurors coming to Court with an open mind." She claims there was a collusion between prosecutors and her own legal team to conceal evidence, as well as broader prosecutorial misconduct. According to Maxwell, "If the jury had heard of the new evidence of the collusion between the plaintiff's lawyers and the Government to conceal evidence and the prosecutorial misconduct they would not have convicted".
Also read | Luigi Mangione placed under constant watch to save him from an 'Epstein-style' end, guard tells court
Notably, the filing was submitted by Maxwell herself, rather than through an attorney.
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According to AFP, motions of this kind are rarely successful. Such petitions are often considered a last-resort option for convicted defendants after appeals have been exhausted, and are routinely dismissed by judges unless clear, compelling evidence emerges.
Maxwell’s previous efforts to overturn her conviction have already failed. In October, the US Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal, rejecting the request without issuing an explanation.
