Does Ghislaine Maxwell's Prison Life in Florida Include Solitary Confinement?
Ghislaine Maxwell has served three of her 20-year prison sentence.
Published July 24 2025, 10:50 a.m. ET
As the Jeffrey Epstein controversy continues to roil the Trump administration, some attention has been paid to Epstein's closest associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence. Maxwell was convicted on the charge of sex trafficking back in 2022 and has been serving her prison sentence in Tallahassee, Fla.
On July 24, Maxwell is set to meet with members of the Department of Justice, ostensibly to obtain more information about Epstein than what she has already disclosed. Now, many want to know whether Maxwell has been in solitary confinement during her time in prison:
Is Ghislaine Maxwell in solitary confinement?
Although we know that she has spent time in solitary confinement and that her lawyer petitioned to postpone her sentencing because she was being confined in that manner, there's no indication that she's spent the entirety of her sentence in solitary confinement.
According to a report from Fox News Digital, Maxwell was seen jogging around the track at her prison facility in July, suggesting that she is imprisoned in much the same way most inmates are.
She is likely among the more famous inmates, and she might need extra protection because of the nature of the crimes for which she's been convicted.
On the whole, though, she seems to maintain some degree of freedom inside the confines of her cell, and even conducted an interview with The Guardian in 2023 in which she fanned the flames around her former associate's death by apparent suicide in 2019.
Jeffrey Epstein and associate Ghislaine Maxwell at the Clinton White House in 1993.
“Looking back now, I probably wish I had stayed in England. But leaving that aside, you know, I tried to leave and start another new job and move on from the end of ’98, ’99," she said during the interview. “So I wish I had been more successful in moving on … because I’d been a banker and so I should have moved on completely.”
Clearly, her relationship with Epstein has shaped the course of her entire life.
Solitary confinement has been described as torture.
Although it has been used in prisons throughout America for decades, the United Nations has described the use of solitary confinement, especially over prolonged periods, as a form of torture.
"For years, my mandate has raised concerns about the worldwide overuse of solitary confinement, which is subject to widespread arbitrariness", said Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur. "My predecessor, Prof. Juan Mendez, has compellingly shown the extent to which such practices could amount to torture."
"These practices trigger and exacerbate psychological suffering, in particular in inmates who may have experienced previous trauma or have mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities," Melzer said.
"The severe and often irreparable psychological and physical consequences of solitary confinement and social exclusion are well documented and can range from progressively severe forms of anxiety, stress, and depression to cognitive impairment and suicidal tendencies."
Solitary confinement is not a punishment to be used lightly, and the United Nations would likely say it shouldn't be used at all.