New York Prison Escape Brings Back Memories. Plus, Insights from the Author of Ghost Burglar

From fall 1978 to summer of 1979 I was involved one day a week in prison visitation at the Bayamon Prison in Puerto Rico. The experiences I had inspired an idea for a novel that I never wrote, but there were many fascinating stories that came from the experience. The year before I arrived there was a successful prison escape that was somewhat humorous in its audacity. On another occasion there was a less amusing story in which two guards were shot. Both these stories came to mind when the news was first released regarding the well-publicized story of two convicted murderers who escaped this week from a New York penitentiary.

One feature of the story especially struck me, the confidence with which the police indicated that the escapees would be captured quickly. It brought to mind the book Ghost Burglar (Savage Press) which I reviewed a little over two years ago and my interview with the authors Jack Burch and James King.

Tonight I sent the authors a quick email to ask what their thoughts were on this story, and how what they learned from their own research would apply here.

EN: What lessons would you take away from the Bernard Welch story that apply to this news story?

James King: Ed, thanks for remembering the details of our book, Ghost Burglar. I had the same thoughts as you about the recent escape. I think what's powering this story is that the escape process was similar to the movie "Shawshank Redemption." Bernard Welch and his partner saw a flaw in Dannemora prison security and went over a fence during a prison ball game. Not quite as interesting as digging a tunnel, but equally effective.

Welch [ednote: the central character in Ghost Burglar] was free as an escapee for over five years. That was when he was active in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC areas. During that time he stole an estimated fifty million dollars in goods, raped several women and committed one and possibly two murders. He was arrested and sentenced to 147 years in an escape proof prison. He managed to escape by concocting a ruse that he was an informer about future planned escapes and was sent to the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago. He and a partner managed to escape from the high rise prison by sliding down a buffer electric cord. It took several months for him to be recaptured near Pittsburgh, PA.

I believe the confidence of authorities in the capture of the two current escapees is to placate the public. The prison certainly has egg on its face because of the brazen way the escape occurred. I would bet that there will be some reassignments of personnel there in the near future. The only positive to the whole affair is the nation-wide media attention on the story. That will make the escapees' efforts to disappear very difficult. It should hasten their capture, but how long will it take? No one really knows. I only hope they do not harm any innocent people while they are on the run.

If you remember a couple of years ago two prisoners escaped from the Chicago Metropolitan Center in the same way as Welch did, but using bedsheets instead of an electric cord. I think this proves that lifer convicts will always try to escape. They have nothing to lose by trying. They are already serving a life sentence. What more can be done to them? The take-away from this is that long-term prisoners with a violent past have to be placed in truly escape proof facilities. That's why Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay was so effective. A few made it over the wall, but did not survive the Bay waters.

The problem is that such high security prisons are expensive to operate. In tight financial times they become difficult to justify to the taxpayer. In high security prisons the inmates are usually held in small single cells for twenty-three hours a day for years. This creates a humanitarian concern. The problem is humanitarian concerns make prison security much more difficult. Desperate people will take advantage of any weakness they can exploit. This places prison administrators in a difficult position.

What's the answer? I don't truly know. History tells us there will always be escape attempts. Can they all be stopped? Probably not.