2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape
44°43′23″N 73°43′08″W / 44.72306°N 73.71889°W
 Clinton Correctional Facility | |
| Date | June 6, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Location | Clinton Correctional Facility Village of Dannemora, New York, United States |
The 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape took place on June 6, 2015, when two inmates were discovered missing during a bed check at 5:30 a.m. at the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility. The inmates were Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34. Both had been convicted of murder.[1]
Escape
On June 7, 2015, it was reported that an "external breach" was found on a street approximately 500 feet (150 m) south of the prison wall; they had tunneled out of the facility with power tools. Matt had also escaped from an Erie County jail in 1986. The men were housed in Honor Block, a privileged housing unit, that allowed them access to cooking stations, televisions, wall mounted telephones, showers, and card tables in the cell house at specified intervals during the day.[1][2] According to news reports, the escapees used tools from contractors to cut their escape way during the nights, and returned them to their toolboxes afterwards.[3]
The escape was elaborate and has been compared to the escape made in the novella and film by Stephen King, The Shawshank Redemption.[4] New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took a walking tour of the facility and the escape route to witness the method in order to understand how to prevent further attempts in this and other facilities.[5][6]
Authorities are studying the possibility that the two were going to be picked up by a female prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, who later decided not to do so, and then, according to a relative, developed chest pains and was hospitalized.[7][8]
Manhunt
Authorities have searched the farms and fields around the town of Willsboro, New York after receiving a tip that Matt and Sweat may have been spotted there on June 9.[9]
Authorities spent June 9 and 10 retracing their steps near Dannemora after searching Willsboro, and also expanded the search to the border with Vermont, saying the two may have tried to flee to the state. Authorities in Canada, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and departments along the border with the U.S., and Mexico (where one of the prisoners killed a person) have also been alerted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), state and local police, and the Forest Service Police (the Adirondack Forest covers the area) are all involved in the search, which is being led by the local police and the Marshal's Service working with prison officials. There is a $100,000 bounty set by Governor Cuomo for the two ($50,000 per head), which may increase. No reports of break-ins or robberies or murders have come in so far, but there have been two reports of sightings. In all the cases, police have not had any run-ins with the actual escapees before they presumably left the area.
A stretch of nearby New York State Route 374 was closed until further notice on June 11. School classes were canceled in Dannemora and Saranac. Later that day, the number of officers present in the area near the prison was raised to more than 500, from the initial estimate of between 300 and 400. That afternoon and evening, after bloodhounds picked up a scent and authorities discovered a footprint and a wrapper, police began methodically searching, until nightfall, a wooded area near the nearby town of Cadyville, New York. Police, however, say this is not a lead that has produced definite evidence that they are still currently in that area, and they definitely are not detected or cornered yet. Areas of Plattsburgh and Lake Champlain have also been searched, and billboards asking for help have been put up in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and along the Canadian border.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
On June 12, the seventh day of the search, it was reported that there has still been no confirmed sighting of the escapees.[22] Later that day, prison worker Joyce Mitchell was arrested and charged with aiding the escapees. Her bond was set at $200,000.[23][24]
According to reports from June 13, the continued search also includes helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, and search dogs. However, bad weather conditions with rain have hampered search efforts.[25]
Investigation
On June 15, Governor Cuomo ordered New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott to investigate the prison break.[26]
On the morning of June 16, with the prisoners still eluding capture, an online news story article from Associated Press writer Rodrique Ngowi was featured on the MSN webpage, stating Mitchell had provided Matt and Sweat with hacksaw blades, chisels, and other tools. According to Clinton County Attorney Andrew Wylie, who is overseeing the prosecution of Mitchell, "[s]he had agreed to be the getaway driver, but backed out because she still loved her husband and felt guilty for participating." Ngowi's article also noted workers welded shut the manholes made by the two inmates. His article quoted Wylie as saying, "Ms. Mitchell was Plan A and there was no Plan B, which is why authorities have now been concentrating their search to a perimeter around the maximum security prison."[27] According to the Associated Press, Mitchell waived a preliminary hearing, allowing the case to immediately proceed in county court.[28]
Clinton County Sheriff David Favro disagreed with Wylie's interpretation, telling CNN that Mitchell's getaway car was only a 'Plan B'. Favro suspects their actual elaborate plan, which was the one the escapees actually carried out, had a more foolproof 'Plan A' than simply relying on the woman who worked in the prison's tailoring shop as Mitchell believed-and led authorities to believe. Favro added he concluded multiple people may have assisted Matt and Sweat, the implication after several weeks being they had considerable outside help.[citation needed]
On June 17, it was revealed that Mitchell, who has been suspended without pay from the $57,000/year position she held, had contemplated having her husband, Lyle, killed in a potential murder-for-hire deal with Matt, whom she had been close to, and Sweat. Reportedly, she later decided not to go through with the plan out of some sentiment for him. Authorities have no reason at this time to suspect Mitchell's husband knew of or was a participant in the breakout. According to the newspaper Press-Republican, he visited his wife on June 16, and then the New York State Police barracks in Malone, New York, the next day, to speak with authorities. The search has expanded to an area beyond the 16 square miles around the prison that was being searched, and some roadblocks have been lifted and the force reduced from over 800 to about 600.[29]
References
- ^ a b The New York Times (7 June 2015). "With Power Tools and a Ruse, 2 Killers Flee New York Prison".
- ^ Genis, Daniel. "New York State's Scariest Prison". Vice.com. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ Philly (15 June 2015). "Prosecutor: Escapees were patient with tools".
- ^ SHAPIRO, EMILY; KENEALLY, MEGHAN (8 June 2015). "NY Prison Break and How It Compares to 'Shawshank Redemption". ABC News.
- ^ Ahmed, Saeed (8 June 2015). "Source: Employee questioned in New York prison escape". Turner. CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Governor Cuomo tours correctional facility after prison break". No. Pictorial. New York Daily news.
- ^ Chicago Tribune (11 June 2015). "Investigators believe prison employee was in on N.Y. escape plot".
- ^ NBC (11 June 2015). "Prison Worker Joyce Mitchell Being Questioned in Connection With Brazen Escape".
- ^ Botelho, Greg; Prokupecz, Shimon; Yan, Holly. "Authorities search farms, fields for signs of New York escaped killers". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Authorities Hunting for 2 Escapees Focus on 5-Square-Mile Area Near Prison". The New York Times.
- ^ "Guns at Hand, a Prison Town Tracks a Manhunt for Escaped Convicts". The New York Times.
- ^ Joseph De Avila and Jason Bellini (11 June 2015). "Earlier Investigation Focused on Alleged Relationship Between Female Prison Worker and Escaped Killer". WSJ.
- ^ "Manhunt for Two Escaped Killers Expands to Vermont". wsj.com. 11 June 2015.
- ^ Dr. Keith Ablow. "Inside the mind of New York state prison worker Joyce Mitchell". Fox News.
- ^ Michael Goodwin. "Why New York's Cuomo has thrown himself into hunt for prison escapees". Fox News.
- ^ "Inside the forensics of the manhunt for escaped killers". Fox News.
- ^ "Swampy area in upstate New York town focus of hunt for escaped killers". Fox News.
- ^ Greg Botelho, Steve Almasy and Randi Kaye, CNN (11 June 2015). "Dogs hit escapees' scent at gas station near prison - CNN.com". CNN.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "PHOTOS: Manhunt for Clinton Correctional fugitives". Press-Republican.
- ^ "Police: Every lead will be exhausted". Press-Republican.
- ^ "NY governor says escaped convicts are likely to kill again". thestar.com. 10 June 2015.
- ^ ABC (12 June 2015). "NY Prison Escape: Gas Station the Latest Focus of Hunt for Convicts".
- ^ CNN (12 June 2015). "Source: New York prison employee in custody, to be arraigned".
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Los Angeles Times (12 June 2015). "Woman suspected of aiding escapees pleads not guilty to charges".
- ^ NBC (13 June 2015). "Police Tell Escaped New York Killers: 'We're Coming for You'".
- ^ CNN (15 June 2015). "New York prison break: 9 days later, convicted killers still out there".
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Prosecutor: Worker discussed hiring inmates to kill husband". msn.com.
- ^ "Cool, rainy weather hinders hunt for loose killers on Day 11". The Big Story.
- ^ "Prosecutor: Worker discussed hiring inmates to kill husband". msn.com.