Ghislaine Maxwell’s projected release date is in July 2037, according to Bureau of Prisons records.1U.S. News & World Report. Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell Says New Evidence Undermines Conviction She is serving a 20-year federal sentence for sex trafficking and related offenses tied to Jeffrey Epstein, imposed in June 2022. The 2037 date already accounts for the good-conduct-time credits she is eligible to earn. Two things could still change it: a federal court granting her pending habeas corpus petition, or a presidential pardon or commutation. Neither has happened.
Maxwell, 64, is held at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, a minimum-security facility.
How the July 2037 Date Is Calculated
Judge Alison Nathan sentenced Maxwell on June 28, 2022, to 20 years in federal prison, structured as concurrent terms of 60, 120, and 240 months, plus five years of supervised release and a $750,000 fine.2CNN. Ghislaine Maxwell Sentencing3FindLaw. United States v. Maxwell, No. 22-1426-cr The controlling term is the 240 months.
Under federal good-conduct-time rules following the First Step Act of 2018, an inmate can earn up to 54 days of credit for each year of the imposed sentence.4Bureau of Prisons. First Step Act Overview That is why the projected release lands earlier than a straight 20-year count from 2022 would suggest.
The First Step Act also created a separate category of “time credits” that can move eligible prisoners into early release custody such as home confinement, but inmates convicted of sex and sexual exploitation offenses are generally excluded from earning them. Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction falls within that excluded category.5Federal Register. Good Conduct Time Credit Under the First Step Act The July 2037 figure reflects only the good-conduct-time reductions she can receive on the 240-month sentence, not the additional program credits available to inmates convicted of other offenses.
What She Was Convicted Of
A federal jury in the Southern District of New York convicted Maxwell on December 29, 2021, on five of six counts, including conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and sex trafficking of a minor.6Justia. United States v. Maxwell, No. 22-1426 She was acquitted on one count of enticement of a minor to travel for illegal sex acts.
The case rested on the accounts of four women who testified that Maxwell recruited and groomed them for abuse by Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Financial records showed Epstein transferred more than $30 million to Maxwell between 1999 and 2007, which prosecutors argued was her motive for facilitating the abuse.7The Guardian. Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Key Moments At sentencing, Judge Nathan imposed sentence on only three counts, finding that two of the five conviction counts were repetitive.2CNN. Ghislaine Maxwell Sentencing
Direct Appeals Are Exhausted
Maxwell has already lost her direct appeals, which closes the most straightforward path to a shorter sentence.
On September 17, 2024, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction and sentence in full. The court rejected each of her arguments, ruling that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida did not bar her prosecution in New York, that the statute of limitations had been properly extended under the PROTECT Act, and that her 20-year sentence was procedurally reasonable.3FindLaw. United States v. Maxwell, No. 22-1426-cr
The appeals court also addressed the controversy over “Juror 50,” identified as Scotty David, who did not disclose during jury selection that he was a survivor of sexual abuse. The Second Circuit agreed with Judge Nathan’s earlier finding that the omission was an “inadvertent mistake” rather than a deliberate lie and did not affect the juror’s impartiality.8Federal Defenders of New York. Ghislaine Maxwell’s Convictions Upheld
Maxwell then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to consider whether the Florida non-prosecution agreement should have shielded her from charges in New York. On October 6, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.9ABC News. Supreme Court Denies Ghislaine Maxwell Appeal That ended her direct appellate options.
The Habeas Petition That Could Move the Date
With direct appeals over, Maxwell filed a pro se habeas corpus petition on December 17, 2025, asking a federal court to vacate her conviction and sentence. The 50-page filing, submitted with more than 140 exhibits, advances nine grounds for relief. Her central claims are that prosecutors suppressed evidence, that at least three jurors concealed personal histories of sexual abuse during jury selection, and that government witnesses gave inconsistent testimony about dates and timelines.10ABC News. Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell Asks Court to Set Aside Conviction11Courthouse News Service. Representing Herself, Ghislaine Maxwell Pushes to Overturn Conviction She also alleges that the Department of Justice filed charges in 2020 “for expediency and purely political motives” after Epstein’s death.
In April 2026, Maxwell filed an amended petition incorporating documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The amended petition contends that lawyers representing Epstein’s accusers acted as “de facto prosecutors and agents of the government” and that the prosecution failed to conduct independent investigations.1U.S. News & World Report. Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell Says New Evidence Undermines Conviction
The government opposed the petition on June 25, 2026, in a 101-page brief. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton called Maxwell’s claims “baseless or filed too late,” arguing that many had already been rejected on appeal or could have been raised earlier.12Washington Examiner. Ghislaine Maxwell New Evidence Epstein Files The petition is before U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer. No hearing date or ruling has been announced.
Habeas relief is not an appeal in the ordinary sense, and the standard is high. Unless and until Judge Engelmayer grants the petition, the 20-year sentence and the July 2037 projected release remain in effect.
The Clemency Route
The other way the release date could change is a presidential pardon or commutation. Maxwell’s legal team has openly sought clemency from President Donald Trump, but nothing has been granted.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell in July 2025. Her attorneys signaled early that she would invoke the Fifth Amendment unless granted immunity or presidential clemency, and Committee Chairman James Comer said granting immunity and providing questions in advance were “nonstarters.”13Politico. Ghislaine Maxwell Plead Fifth, House Oversight On February 9, 2026, Maxwell appeared by video for a closed-door deposition and invoked the Fifth more than a dozen times, refusing to answer whether she was involved in trafficking, whether she knew Epstein was abusing minors, and whether she could identify additional co-conspirators.14ABC News. Maxwell Expected to Invoke Fifth Amendment Her attorney, David Markus, told the committee that Maxwell would “speak fully and honestly” if granted clemency, claiming she could clear both President Trump and former President Clinton of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.15NPR. Ghislaine Maxwell Refuses to Answer House Committee’s Questions, Appeals for Clemency
The clemency push has drawn bipartisan opposition. Senator Jacky Rosen introduced Senate Resolution 608 in February 2026, expressing the sense of the Senate that Maxwell should not receive a presidential pardon or any form of clemency. The resolution was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and remains pending.16U.S. Congress. S.Res.608, 119th Congress Comer has said he personally opposes a pardon, stating, “I think it looks bad,” and Democratic members of the oversight committee are unanimously against one.17The Guardian. Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell Clemency
Trump has said he has “not thought about” a pardon for Maxwell but has not ruled one out. Markus has told reporters there is a “good chance” she will receive one, though he acknowledged he has not formally discussed the matter with the administration.18Politico. Markus, Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyer, Pardon
Where Maxwell Is Serving the Sentence
Although Maxwell will not be released until 2037 under her current sentence, her prison placement has changed. After sentencing she was initially held at a low-security facility in Tallahassee, Florida. In late July 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell over two days at the Tallahassee facility. About a week later, she was transferred to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, a minimum-security facility with no fences and dormitory-style housing.19NBC News. Ghislaine Maxwell Moved to Federal Prison in Texas
The transfer drew scrutiny because Bureau of Prisons policy generally prohibits placing inmates convicted of sex offenses in minimum-security facilities, and such placements typically require a waiver. Federal prison consultant Sam Mangel told NPR that Maxwell was the first person he was aware of with a sex offense conviction to be placed in a federal prison camp, saying “strings had to have been pulled.”20Houston Public Media. Ghislaine Maxwell Was Transferred to a Texas Prison On May 6, 2026, the Bureau of Prisons issued Change Notice 3 to its inmate classification policy, formally granting the Attorney General authority to designate or redesignate a prisoner’s facility at will.21Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5100.08 Change Notice 3 Blanche has defended the placement as a safety measure, citing threats to Maxwell’s life and the public scrutiny she faces.22Politico. Todd Blanche Defends Moving Ghislaine Maxwell
The transfer to a camp does not itself change her release date. That date will move only if a court grants her habeas petition, or if the President exercises the pardon power. Absent either, Bureau of Prisons records continue to list July 2037.