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Although the case is nearly 10 years old, the escape from Clinton Correctional Facility is once again in the spotlight as new viewers take notice.
Escape at Dannemora, a fictionalized true-crime series starring Patricia Arquette, Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano, originally aired on Showtime in 2018 before being distributed by Netflix in late October of this year. started. Since then, the show's viewership has skyrocketed, and details about this real-life jailbreak have caused ripples once again.
What happened at Dannemora?
Dannemora is a small town in upstate New York with a current population of just over 3,000 people. In 2015, two inmates at Dannemora and the neighboring Clinton Correctional Facility allegedly concocted an escape plan with the help of prison employee Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell.
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At the time, Richard Matt and David Sweat were both serving time in maximum security prisons for murder.
Escape at Dannemora was released in 2018, but Netflix just released it, sparking renewed interest in the New York prison escape.
Matt was convicted of second-degree murder of his former boss, William Rickerson, 11 years after Rickerson's body parts washed ashore in North Tonawanda, New York. Matt was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
In a separate case, Sweat pleaded guilty in 2002 to the shooting death of Broome County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia and was sentenced to life in prison.
Despite their criminal behavior, inmates are housed in the Clinton Correctional Facility's “Honors Block,” a tier reserved for inmates who have shown good behavior and are given additional privileges such as access to a cooktop, television, and telephone. It was done.
Matt and Sweat also worked together in the prison's tailoring shop under Mitchell's supervision, and Mitchell allegedly had sexual relations with both of them, despite denying any sexual relations with either of them. After the release of Escape from Dannemora, Mitchell publicly criticized Ben Stiller, who directed every episode of the series, calling him a “liar” who “doesn't care about the truth”.
However, due to his involvement in the jailbreak plot, Mitchell pleaded guilty and was charged in 2015 with promoting prison contraband and aiding and abetting a crime. Another prison employee, veteran correctional officer Eugene Palmer, was also charged with promoting prison contraband and tampering with physical evidence. Because he was suspected of being involved in the prisoner's escape plan.
Shedding light on the prison system where escape attempts have failed
With the alleged assistance of Mitchell and Palmer, Matt and Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6, 2015.
Leading up to his escape, Sweat left his cell every night for three months and used a hacksaw blade and other tools provided by Mitchell to cut through walls and pipes to create an escape route. According to the submitted report By the New York State Office of the Inspector General and as detailed in the television series[Sweat] And Matt was on duty every night from 6:30pm to 8pm, during which time most of the other honorary block inmates were either in the cafeteria or engaged in recreation in their first-floor “apartments.” Sweat said officers did not question why he and Matt remained in the cell at this time of day, as it was their long-standing habit to make their own dinner and draw in their cell. Ta. ”
While one of them worked for 15 to 20 minutes until he got tired, the other stood by the cell door holding a mirror and watching the patrolling officers. When the police approached, the cutting stopped and he quickly turned to diversionary tactics such as listening to the radio through headphones, watching TV, drawing, and pretending to be asleep. ”
Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, photographed on Sunday, January 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
But a key point missing from the show's narrative is that prison guards systematically failed to conduct regular checks, which negated Sweat's efforts and likely thwarted his escape. Probably.
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The inspector general's investigation also found that “officers on the night shift at Honor Block conducted night counts improperly or not at all for extended periods of time, resulting in not only Sweat and Matt's escape, but also Sweat's almost nightly arrests from his cell. It also revealed that no absences could be detected.''Considering that night shift staff have virtually no responsibilities other than conducting counts and rounds without interfering with inmate activities or movement to programs. These failures are surprising. Additionally, the investigation found that staff throughout the prison were filling out and certifying night count forms before the actual count took place. ”
where the road ends
Twenty days after his escape, Matt was found alone about 30 miles west of the prison after breaking up with Sweat. He failed to surrender and was shot dead by police.
Despite their criminal behavior, inmates are housed in the Clinton Correctional Facility's “Honors Block,” a tier reserved for inmates who have shown good behavior and are given additional privileges such as access to a cooktop, television, and telephone. It was done.
A few days later, New York State Police Sergeant Jay Cooke spotted Sweat jogging down a road in a town just eight miles south of the Canadian border. He was shot twice in the torso and treated for his wounds at a hospital before being returned to prison to resume his life sentence.
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He never returned to Dannemora, instead going to Wende Correctional Facility in Buffalo, New York, where he is kept in a cell under 24-hour observation. However, state records show Sweat is currently incarcerated at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Mercy. He remains serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
As of February 2020, Tilly Mitchell was released after serving almost five of her seven years in prison.
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