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It is impossible to know why a person takes his own life.
要弄清楚一個人為什么自殺是不可能的。
But an examination of Mr. Epstein’s last days by The New York Times,
不過，《紐約時報》對愛普斯坦最后幾天的情況進行了調查——
gathered from dozens of interviews with law enforcement officials, Bureau of Prisons employees, lawyers and others,
對執法官員、監獄管理局雇員、律師等人展開了數十次的采訪——
suggests that Mr. Epstein’s death came after he started to realize the limits of his ability to deploy his wealth and privilege in the legal system.
調查表明，愛普斯坦是在意識到面對法律體系，自己運用財富和特權的能力有限之后去世的。
The people who described their interactions with Mr. Epstein and the conditions in the jail almost all spoke only on condition of anonymity,
向本刊透露自己與愛普斯坦有過接觸以及監獄環境的知情人士幾乎均要求匿名，
in large part because Epstein’s death is now the subject of at least two major federal inquiries into the failure to closely monitor such a high-profile prisoner.
很大程度上是因為就目前來看，愛普斯坦的死已經成為至少兩起重大的，針對聯邦監獄為何未能密切監視如此知名的一名囚犯而展開的聯邦調查的對象。
Mr. Epstein’s lawyers have not responded to questions about his time at the jail or whether they believe that he was not properly monitored.
愛普斯坦的律師團隊沒有回答有關他在監獄服刑期間的問題，也沒有回答他們是否認為他沒有受到適當的監控的問題。
After his suicide, they issued a short statement.
愛普斯坦自殺后，他們發表了一份簡短的聲明。
“No one should die in jail,” they said.
“任何人都不應死在監獄，”聲明中寫道。
Jeffrey Epstein feared life behind bars, according to people who knew him.
據了解杰弗里·愛普斯坦的人透露，愛普斯坦害怕承受牢獄之苦。
A few years ago, on the second floor of his Upper East Side mansion, he had a mural painted
幾年前，他曾聘人給他位于上東區的豪宅的二樓畫了一幅壁畫，
that shows a photorealistic prison scene, with barbed wire, correction officers and a guard station.
畫中是頗為逼真的一個監獄場景，有帶刺的鐵絲網、獄警，還有一個崗亭。
Mr. Epstein himself is portrayed in the middle,
愛普斯坦本人位于畫幅中央，
and he told a visitor earlier this year that he wanted the mural to remind him of what could await him if he was not careful.
今年早些時候，他曾對一位訪客說，他希望這幅壁畫能提醒自己，如果不小心，等待他的將是怎樣的下場。
Mr. Epstein had successfully used his wealth to skirt punitive conditions in his 2008 brush with authorities in Florida,
原來，2008年時，愛普斯坦就曾與佛羅里達州當局發生過摩擦，但他成功地利用自己的財富規避了應受的懲罰，
when his team of elite lawyers negotiated a much-criticized deal with federal prosecutors
當時，他聘請的精英級別的律師團隊與聯邦檢察官達成了一項備受外界批評的協議，
to allow him to plead guilty to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
協議允許他認罪，承認聯邦政府對他提出的誘騙未成年少女賣淫的指控。
In return, Mr. Epstein was shielded from federal sex-trafficking charges.
作為回報，愛普斯坦可免于受到聯邦政府的性交易指控。
He served 13 months at the Palm Beach County stockade and was allowed to leave custody and work out of an office six days a week.
他在棕櫚灘縣的監獄里服刑13個月，還可離開拘留所，一周可在辦公室工作六天。
But this time was different.
然而，今時不同往日。
After Mr. Epstein was arrested on July 6 on a new federal indictment,
7月6日，愛普斯坦因一項新的聯邦指控被捕，
he ended up in a cell in the special housing unit in the Metropolitan Correctional Center,
最后被關進了大都會懲教中心的禁閉室，
a rust-colored fortress in Lower Manhattan where many of the inmates are awaiting trial on federal charges.
大都會懲教中心是曼哈頓下城區一座鐵銹色城堡樣式的監獄，里面關押著許多等待聯邦指控最終審判的囚犯。
The jail has often held high-profile prisoners.
經常有大名鼎鼎的罪犯到該監獄服刑。
Joaquín Guzman Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo, was housed there after two escapes from high-security Mexican prisons.
華金·古茲曼·洛埃拉，綽號“矮子”的毒梟，兩次從墨西哥戒備森嚴的監獄越獄后就被關到了這里。
Other inmates have included Bernard L. Madoff, who masterminded a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
其他曾被關在此地的名人有伯納德·L·馬多夫，他曾策劃了一起涉案金額高達數十億美元的龐氏騙局。
It is notorious for miserable conditions, particularly in the higher-security units.
該監獄的生活環境，尤其是較高安全級別的牢房的生活環境是出了名的惡劣。
Mr. Guzman and the mob boss John Gotti, who were housed in the most secure wing, often complained (garnering little sympathy in response).
古茲曼和黑幫老大約翰·戈蒂二人都曾被關押在最高安全級別的牢房內，二人曾經常就此頗有怨言（但幾乎未能博得任何同情）。
The staffing problems at the jail are emblematic of a larger shortage of correctional officers in federal jails and prisons across the country.
該監獄的人員配備問題折射出了全國各地的聯邦監獄普遍存在的懲教人員嚴重短缺的問題。
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