In the summer of 2015, David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York through a meticulously planned plot. For months, the inmates cut through cell walls and crawled through underground utility tunnels with tools smuggled in by prison employee Joyce Mitchell. On June 6th, they emerged through a manhole, hoping Mitchell would drive them to freedom. She never showed up.
What followed was a massive three-week manhunt. Matt, who was drinking and unstable on the run, was shot and killed by police on June 26th after firing at a vehicle. Two days later, authorities spotted Sweat walking down a road near the Canadian border. When he ran into nearby woods, the sergeant shot and apprehended him.
During questioning, Sweat provided investigators new details about how the escape happened. He explained how they exploited security gaps, with one guard unwittingly sharing information and Mitchell smuggling blades in meat. The plan relied on Mitchell poisoning her husband to help as their getaway driver, but she suffered a panic attack and went to the hospital instead.
At trial, Mitchell claimed Matt had threatened her, though this is disputed. For Sweat, already serving life for murder, authorities tacked on seven more years. He also faced permanent solitary confinement under video watch at a new prison, unable to connect with others as before. The escape exposed issues with staff conduct that a later TV series also portrayed.
While recaptured, Sweat’s escape from death row through resourcefulness still amazes. As he told authorities, had he solely fled during practice instead of waiting, he likely would have reached freedom in Canada on his own. But ultimately his choice to include Richard Matt led to their downfall.
