The Great Escape: Richard Matt and David Sweat’s Daring Breakout and the Fallout That Shook the Nation

The Criminal Histories of Richard Matt and David Sweat

Richard Matt and David Sweat were both serving time for heinous crimes when they orchestrated their infamous escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility. Matt, a career criminal, was serving a sentence of 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnapping and murder of his former employer, William Rickerson. After torturing and killing Rickerson, Matt fled to Mexico, where he committed another murder before being extradited back to the U.S. Sweat, on the other hand, was serving a life sentence without parole for the 2002 killing of Broome County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia. Sweat and his accomplices had stolen firearms and, when confronted by Deputy Tarsia, shot him multiple times and ran him over with a vehicle.

Planning the Escape: A Complex Scheme Unfolds

The escape plan was meticulously crafted over several months. Matt and Sweat, housed in adjacent cells, used tools smuggled in by prison employee Joyce Mitchell to cut through the steel walls at the back of their cells. They navigated through a series of catwalks and tunnels, eventually cutting into a steam pipe that led them to a manhole outside the prison walls. To avoid detection during nightly bed checks, they placed dummies under their blankets. Their escape was discovered during a 5:30 a.m. bed check on June 6, 2015, sparking a massive manhunt. ...Read More

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