Prison escape

U.S. Marshals observing a prisoner transport to prevent escapes

A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers. Escaping from prison is also a criminal offense in some countries e.g. America and Russia, and it is highly likely to result in time being added to the inmate's sentence, as well as the inmate being placed under increased security. Aggravating factors include whether or not violence was used.

Many prisons use security features such as motion sensors, CCTV, barred windows, high walls, barbed wire (or razor wire in some countries) and electric fencing to prevent escapes.

Methods

1,200 U.S. soldiers escape from POW camp at Limburg, March 1945

Numerous methods have been used to escape prison over time. Many escapes have been successfully conducted by inmates who have invented their own methods. Weaknesses that are found as prisoners escape are often corrected at numerous prisons around the world to prevent future escapes in a similar manner. This leads inmates to finding new ways out.

Since prisoners usually have a lot of time in which they are doing nothing, this gives them plenty of time to think, allowing them to devise plans and figure out ways to escape.

The following are methods that have commonly been used by prisoners in escapes. In some instances, a combination of these are used.^[1]

Cell escape

While some prisoners are allowed out of their cells at times, others remain locked in their cells most of the time. Many prisoners who are kept in their cells must find ways out of the cells. Even those who are allowed out of their cells at times still have plans that involve escape from their cells.

Cell escapes occur through either the door, the window, the light, the ventilation system, or by breaking down the walls.

Some prisoners have escaped by picking the locks on their cells, creating keys to their cells, sawing bars of the doors or windows, carving away the walls, or breaking away the vent.

Containment penetration

Breaking down or slipping through the physical containment of the prisoner, including that of the cell itself and/or the surrounding complex. Methods include destruction of the cell of compound walls, squeezing through tight spaces, or entering off-limits areas. Prisoners often destroy their containment with homemade tools, smuggled objects, or other contraband.

Most prisons are contained on the outside by one or more fences, often topped with barbed wire or razor wire. Escapees manage to scale these fences successfully or cut holes in the fences, damaging them. These fences are also watched by one or more guards from a tower, but escapees manage to pass the fence when the guard is turned away, unable to see in the dark, or sleeping on the job. Outside the fences is often a perimeter patrol conducted by an officer in a vehicle, which stands as the final line of defense. Escapees manage to evade this by studying the length of time between passes and/or waiting until it is on the other side and/or using the cover of darkness.

A rare method that has been used at times involves the digging of a tunnel under the facility that exits outside the facility.

Physical force

Attacking guards with muscle, homemade weapons, smuggled weapons, or weapons belonging to guards that have been overtaken.

Some escapes involve one or more inmates taking over an entire unit or section of the prison, subduing guards, and stealing weapons or other objects they can use to their advantage.

Deception

Deception may involve fooling one or more guards into believing the prisoner is authorized to depart prison grounds for a legitimate reason, or the prisoner disguising himself or herself as a worker or civilian who can exit prison grounds without a hassle, or the creation of a ruse to mislead guards.

In some escapes, inmates construct makeshift dummies to make guards believe they are in their cells, usually in bed, when they are not. This enables the inmate to gain a head start from the prison before guards discover they are actually missing. Such dummies are typically constructed quite crudely, often using the inmate's or another's hair, shoes, and miscellaneous materials for stuffing, hidden under a blanket to give the appearance a body is present.

Exploitation of weaknesses

Finding holes in the security of the facility, and taking advantage of them. This may include the discovery of overlooked security issues, or taking advantage of guards who are not following policies or procedures, or are otherwise not doing their jobs properly.

Exploitation of corruption

Taking advantage of intentional wrongdoing on part of prison staff. This may include the use of weapons or other contraband smuggled in by staff, or receiving assistance from staff who believe in that inmate's freedom and willingly assist.

Failure to return

Some lower security inmates are permitted to leave prison grounds temporarily on the honor they will return. These include those who depart for employment outside the facility or furloughs that allow time outside for periods of time.

Escape from outside

Breaking while in custody outside facility grounds. Prisoners are often transported for work duties, to be moved between facilities, attend court hearings, for hospitalization and medical appointments, and other reasons.

Outside help

Receiving aid from an accomplice outside prison walls. Including those who provide a ride to the inmate following their penetration, smuggle in contraband as visitors, use helicopters, among other methods.

When a banned item is smuggled, it can either be slipped through or tossed over the fence from outside, hidden in a gift to the inmate that is legal, or slipped past corrupt security officers. In some cases, the staff are the source of the smuggling themselves.

Escape from island prisons

Escaping from an island prison brings another challenge of crossing the water to free land. This can be done by construction of a makeshift raft or receiving outside help from the owner of a boat. In the famed 1962 Alcatraz escape, a makeshift raft from raincoats was confirmed. One additional theory is that a boat was used to transport them in the water.

Prevention

Prevention of prison escape includes the numerous security measures that are in effect. How many and which measures are used depends on the security level and specific institution. Some of the preventative measures are:

Structural

• One or more fences surrounding the facility
• Barbed wire or razor wire on topping fences that surround the facility
• Razor wire on the ground between fences, thereby making one's presence in this area dangerous and possibly deadly
• Multiple locked doors between the "pods" (sections of cells) and the exit
• Cell windows are too narrow for a human body to fit through

Guard placement

• Rounds: Guards within the facility make rounds checking inmates at set intervals
• Full-time watch: High-risk inmates are watched non-stop around the clock one-on-one
• Guard towers: Guards in towers at corners of compound can observe edges of the facility and are often authorized to use deadly force against fleeing escapees
• Perimeter patrol: A guard in a vehicle circles the compound from the outside, watching for escaping inmates

Technology

• Floodlights enable guards to view inmates passing over a certain area at night
• Microwave sensors alert security if an inmate nears the fence

Routine

• Head counts at set times to assure the number of inmates actually in the facility matches the number on record
• Cell searches to make sure inmates do not have contraband that can be used to aid an escape or commit violence against guards or other inmates

Punishment

In some jurisdictions, such as in the United States, escaping from jail or prison is a criminal offense. In Virginia, for instance, the punishment for escape depends on whether the offender escaped by using force or violence or setting fire to the jail, and the seriousness of the offense for which they were imprisoned.^[2][3][4] In other jurisdictions, the philosophy of the law holds that it is human nature to want to escape. In Mexico, for instance, escapees who do not break any other laws are not charged for anything and no extra time is added to their sentence;^[5] however, officers are allowed to shoot prisoners attempting to escape.^[6] In Mexico, an escape is illegal if violence is used against prison personnel or property, or if prison inmates or officials aid the escape.^[7]

Famous historical escapes

Escapes in popular culture

Non-fiction

• The Great Escape (1963) involves the prisoners of a German prisoner of war camp digging their way to freedom from under a hut. The story was made into a novel and later a movie.
• The Wooden Horse also prisoners of a German prisoner of war camp who dug from underneath a vaulting horse
• Colditz based on the true story, depicts the fate of many imprisoned at Colditz Castle during World War II.
• Le Trou, a 1960 film by Jacques Becker, depicts the attempted escape of five French prisoners from La Santé Prison in 1947.
• Papillon (1973) tells the story of Henri Charrière's escape from Devil's Island in 1943.
• Escape from Alcatraz (1979) depicts the escape of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers.
• Escape from Sobibor, the true story of a Jewish Partisan and a Soviet POW who together, with a group of other inmates, help 300 Jews escape from Sobibor extermination camp.
• As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me, a 2001 film based on Cornelius Rost's escape from a Siberian prisoner of war camp.
• Breakout, a 2010 National Geographic Channel TV series portrays reenactments of real life prison escapes.
• I Escaped - Real Prison Breaks a British television series, documents famous prison escapes from around the world.
• A Man Escaped, a 1956 French film based on French Resistance prisoner of war André Devigny's escape from Fort Montluc prison during World War II.
• Vanished from Alcatraz, a National Geographic Channel program, portrays a reenactment of the 1962 Alcatraz escape and explores the fate of the escapees.
• I Love You, Phillip Morris, a 2009 film based on the life of con-man, Steven Jay Russell, who escaped from prison multiple times.
• She Made them Do It, a 2012 film based on the life of Sarah Jo Pender, who escaped in 2008 from Rockville Correctional Facility in Indiana.

Fiction

• Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is a novella by Stephen King which revolves around a prison escape, and was made famous by the subsequent film The Shawshank Redemption featuring actors such as Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards.
• The Count of Monte Cristo depicts protagonist Edmond Dantès's falsified arrest and internment, years of isolation and finally recruitment into an escape from prison to exact revenge on his captors.
• The TV series Prison Break revolves around a complicated escape plan and the subsequent nationwide manhunt. A second escape from a prison in Panama and the subsequent (though brief) manhunt are featured at the end of the series' third season.
• In the third season of the TV series 24 the main protagonist Jack Bauer has to break Ramon Salazar, a notorious criminal, out of a Los Angeles prison and return him to his brother in Mexico in order to prevent a biological terrorist attack on the U.S. He uses several methods to do this. Being a government agent allowed Jack Bauer direct contact with Ramon who he was then able to extract partway through the prison before being trapped and consequently forcing an operator of a control room to unlock all of the inmate gates, starting a prison riot.
• In the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Sam Fisher escapes prison with JBA member Jamie Washington.
• In Oz inmates Miguel Alvarez and Agamemnon Busmalis escape from the prison. Eventually both are apprehended by authorities.
• In the 1953 movie Stalag 17, attempts to escape the prison fail because of a spy.
• In the movie The Fugitive, as with the television series on which it was based, Dr. Richard Kimble is mistakenly accused of his wife's murder. He escapes along with another inmate when their transport crashes.
• The movie U.S. Marshals (a spin-off of The Fugitive movie featuring Tommy Lee Jones' U.S. Marshal character) revolves around a prison escapee and his mistaken conviction of his crime.
• The Famous Five novel Five on a Hike Together features Dick receiving a message from an escaped prisoner intended for one of the prisoner’s accomplices (whose given name was also Dick).
• The Harry Potter novel The Prisoner of Azkaban depicts the manhunt of a wizard who escaped the magical community's version of Alcatraz (Azkaban).
• In the video game Sly 2: Band of Thieves the player has break out his fellow captive team members.
• In Saints Row 2, the player escapes from prison with a fellow inmate named Carlos in the beginning of the game.
• In Dead to Rights, the player is sent to prison after being framed for murder. After a lot of work an escape plan is developed that includes escaping from the electric chair as its used on you and as a bonus, killing the sadistic guard that was to perform the execution by putting him in the electric chair after you escape from it. The player then escapes through sewer tunnels and an old mine shaft. In a later chapter where the player returns to the prison (now shut down due to the escape and severe damage from riots that followed), the escape is referred to as being "now legendary." An interesting note is that during the attempted execution, two of the game's main villains are there to see the execution (one of which was responsible for the character being framed and sent there) and there's a third that presumably represents the third major villain as he's seen later working for him.
• In Con Air, the inmates on the plane attempted to escape in an attempt planned by Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich).
• Riddick, a fictional character portrayed by Vin Diesel, is notorious for his ability to escape from seemingly any detention facility including those with extreme security measures such as hostile environments or even cryopreservation.
• In both the novel and the film The Silence of the Lambs, serial killer Hannibal Lecter escapes from his specially designed maximum security cell in Memphis, Tennessee by killing his two guards and using the face of one of them to fool the ambulance crew. He later murders the ambulance crew and a tourist and flees Memphis.
• In Cool Hand Luke, Luke becomes notorious for his repeated attempts to escape prison.
• In the British soap opera Coronation Street, murderer Tony Gordon was broken out of prison by his ex-cellmate Robbie in order to get revenge on people who he believes caused him to be sent down.
• The Next Three Days
• In the videogame Call of Duty: Black Ops, the player escapes from the Russian prison Vorkuta in the second mission.
• Breakout Kings
• The Escapist, a (2008 film) revolves around a life serving prisoner who plans an escape with fellow inmates after receiving a letter informing him of his dying daughter from deteriorating health.
• In the videogame Call of Duty: Black Ops II, in a DLC Zombies mode map "Mob of the Dead", four players take control of fictional characters in Alcatraz Prison who attempt to escape the penitentiary using a makeshift plane during the zombie outbreak.

See also

• Escape tunnel
• Fugitive
• Manhunt (law enforcement)
• Prison riot

Lists:

• List of prison escapes
• List of helicopter prison escapes
• List of prisoner-of-war escapes
• List of people who escaped from prison
• List of people who escaped multiple times from prison

Footnotes

References

• Dowswell, Paul (1994). Tales of Real Escape. London, England: Usborne Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7460-1669-7. 
• McMillan, David (2007). Escape. Singapore: Monsoon Books. ISBN 978-981-05-7568-7.