How Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Prison

The tunnel through which they escaped


It is the first ever time when prisoners of this maximum security prison were able to successfully attempt an escape.

Their names are Richard Matt and David Sweat (convicted murderers). What they did was cutting through the walls in their cells, scaling a cat walk and coming out through a manhole cover a block away. There were a series of underground tunnels that led from the prison to the manhole.

In order not to reveal their missing they used hooded sweatshirts and other materials to create decoys to fool the guards who run their checks every 2 hours.

The prison officials admit that some tools were used in this creative plot. And these hand tools were obtained within the Clinton facility where many contractors come to do jobs all the time.