Prison guards spared jail time in Epstein suicide plea deal

Two prison guards have admitted falsifying records on the night disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in August 2019.

But in a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas would be spared jail time.

The pair fabricated log entries to make it seem like they had conducted required half-hourly checks on Epstein.

But the court heard they were actually snoozing or surfing the web instead of making their rounds.

Noel and Thomas' plea deal will need to be approved by a judge. Instead of spending time behind bars, the pair would be required to complete 100 hours of community service under supervised release.

They would also have to co-operate with an ongoing investigation by the justice department's inspector general.

On the night Epstein took his life, he was alone in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, say authorities. 

He had been taken off suicide watch after a previous suspected attempt to take his own life.

Surveillance footage showed that no other people had entered the area where Epstein was held that evening, said officials at the time.