To appreciate how Ghislaine Maxwell must be feeling about her move from the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee, FL, to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, TX, you have to know more about the first prison. When Maxwell arrived at FCI-Tallahassee on July 25, 2022, to begin serving a 20-year sentence. The building had seen better days.
That year, the Justice Department’s inspector general found “alarming” conditions. Inmates were being fed spoiled food, and rodent droppings and bugs were an issue. A crumbling infrastructure and staffing were cited as the most significant issues facing the facility.
Staffing had long been a problem in Tallahassee. In 2006, agents from the Department of Justice Inspector General and the FBI attempted to arrest six male correctional officers in the female prison. They were suspected of corruption and of trading drugs and contraband for sex with the women. Had Maxwell been there then, she might have kept things better organized.
At the time of the planned arrest, neither the correctional nor federal officers were supposed to be armed.
“This arrest situation was done in a manner to be very controlled … where nobody would have any weapons, and we could take this down so there wouldn’t be any violence, and this is exactly how it would be handled normally across the United States,” said Michael Folar, FBI Special Agent.
The arrest took place in the lobby. One of the officers was carrying a personal handgun and got into a shootout with a Department of Justice agent. Both men died from their wounds, and another federal agent was wounded.
Tallahassee was a step up from her conditions before coming to Florida. While awaiting trial, Maxwell was held at the same Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, where her partner-in-crime Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell said she shared her tiny cell with rats, was served food infested with maggots, and was verbally abused by guards. She was often held in solitary confinement; her lawyers issued a complaint to the United Nations. After sentencing, Maxwell’s lawyers tried to get her assigned to Danbury, Connecticut, known like her present home in Bryan, TX, as part of the “Club Fed” network.
In Tallahassee, prisoners were awakened to begin their day at 6 am. Each of the 755 women are assigned a name badge, which must be worn all day. The only approved uniform is khaki pants, khaki shirt, knickers, bra, socks, and authorised shoes. Each prisoner shares a cell with one other person, and staff may search cells at any time for contraband or stolen property. Maxwell was allowed to wear a simple wedding band. Most people don’t know that Maxwell was secretly married. She was almost as secretly divorced from her husband, notifying her he’d moved on in a phone call to Maxwell in solitary confinement.
Interest in Maxwell picked up after the Justice Department announced in an unsigned memo that there was nothing to see in the Epstein Files, no client list existed, and no more information would be released. Donald Trump and Justice Department officials kept digging their hole deeper, trying to explain why documents Pam Bondi said were “sitting on her desk” never existed. In one of several attempts to divert attention from the Epstein Files, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Donald Trump’s personal defense attorney, met with Maxwell over two days, sharing nothing thus far about their conversation. A week later, Maxwell was transferred to FCI Bryan, where conditions are much better. Maxwell finally made it to Club Fed.
At Club Fed, prisoners are primarily housed in two-person cells in dormitory-style facilities, according to Pink Lady Prison Consultants, an advocacy group led by former prisoners. All prisoners are expected to work, earning between 12 cents and $1.15 per hour. A range of educational programs is also available, including classes on business skills and foreign languages.
The handbook says inmates can also play sports, attend religious services, and access televisions. Visitors are allowed during the weekend and holidays, though with limited physical contact. When they say “lower-security,” they mean it. The facility is partially fenced, and photographers have been able to capture images of high-profile inmates like Elizabeth Holmes as she jogs and engages in outdoor activities. Inmates can just walk off the property if the perimeter is not monitored correctly or maintained, as happened in 2017 when three inmates escaped. There is conflicting information as to whether one is still at large.
Maxwell shouldn’t have been eligible for a transfer to the Texas camp. The Bureau of Prisons guidelines don’t allow for violent offenders, including sex offenders, to be sent without approval. No one in the Bureau of Prisons or the Justice Department has acknowledged who approved the transfer or the reason why. The transfer reeks of an attempt to appease Maxwell and keep her quiet about Donald Trump and Epstein’s other rich friends and their involvement with young girls. The possibility of a pardon or reduction in penalty is being discussed, though Trump keeps claiming he knows nothing about it while saying he has the right to do so.
Maxwell’s fellow inmates apparently aren’t happy to see her.
“Every inmate I’ve heard from is upset she’s here," said Julie Howell. "This facility is supposed to house non-violent offenders. Human trafficking is a violent crime. We have heard there are threats against her life, and many of us are worried about our own safety because she’s here.”
Some of Epstein’s and Maxwell’s victims have spoken out about Maxwell’s favorable treatment and the possibility of parole.
Expressed in a statement was the following:
“President Trump has sent a clear message today: Pedophiles deserve preferential treatment and their victims do not matter.
“It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas.
“This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes. The American public should be enraged by the preferential treatment being given to a pedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender. The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar."
At FPC Bryan, Ghislaine Maxwell will follow a structured routine. She’ll wake up early, complete her work assignment, have three scheduled meals, and observe lights out. She may choose to go for walks or jog, which wasn’t available in Tallahassee.
The commissary is full of items previously unavailable, including a wide range of cosmetics and snacks. She can buy earbuds and listen to music. Her life maybe ain’t no crystal stair, but things are a lot better than they were in Tallahassee.
Most of the inmates at FPC Bryan have short times left on their sentences and less motivation to escape or disobey the rules. Only Todd Blanche knows what promises have been made to Maxwell, possibly about getting out soon.
Time will tell.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.