David Sweat
Clinton Correctional Facility
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| Date | June 6, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Location |
Clinton Correctional Facility Village of Dannemora, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 44°43′23″N 73°43′08″W / 44.72306°N 73.71889°WCoordinates: 44°43′23″N 73°43′08″W / 44.72306°N 73.71889°W |
| Outcome |
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| Deaths | 1 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 1 |
The 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape took place on June 6, 2015, when two inmates, Richard Matt and David Sweat, were discovered missing during a 5:17 a.m. bed check at the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility. Both were serving life without parole for murder. Nearly three weeks later, Matt was found at Malone, New York, where he was shot and killed; two days after that, Sweat was shot and taken into custody. The manhunt and investigation was said to cost about $23 million.
On June 7, 2015, the two prisoners were found to have been unaccounted for during the 5:17 a.m. morning count, having last being seen at 10:30 p.m.'s count the night before. It was reported that an "external breach" was found on a street approximately 500 feet (150 m) south of the prison wall. The inmates were later stated to have tunneled out of the facility with hacksaw blades provided by a corrections department employee. 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. 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.
The escape was elaborate and has been compared to the escape made in the novella and film by Stephen King, The Shawshank Redemption. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took a walking tour of the facility with publicity cameras present.
Authorities found that the two had planned to be picked up by a prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, who later decided not to do so, and then, according to a relative, developed chest pains and was hospitalized. A second employee, prison guard Gene Palmer, was also charged with aiding the escape. Palmer admitted to investigators that he smuggled tools into the prison and did other favors for Richard Matt in exchange for paintings.
Authorities 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.
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 Matt had previously been convicted of murder, were also alerted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), state and local police, and the New York State Forest Rangers (the Adirondack Park Preserve covers the area) were all involved in the search, which was being led by the local police and the United States Marshals Service working with prison officials. There was a $50,000 bounty set for each inmate by Governor Cuomo and was subsequently increased to $75,000 when the U. S. Marshals added $25,000 each. There were no reports of break-ins, robberies, or murders, but there were two reports of sightings. In all the cases, police had not had any run-ins with the actual escapees before they presumably left the area.
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Wikipedia