The Prison Break, the Manhunt, the Inside Story In June 2015, two vicious convicted murderers broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, in New York’s North Country, launching the most extensive manhunt in state history. Aided by prison employee Joyce Mitchell, double murderer Richard Matt and cop-killer David Sweat slipped out of their cells, followed a network of tunnels and … network of tunnels and pipes under the thirty-foot prison wall, and climbed out of a manhole to freedom.
For three weeks, the residents of local communities were virtual prisoners in their own homes as law enforcement from across the nation swept the rural wilderness near the Canadian border. The manhunt made front-page headlines—as did the prison sex scandal involving both inmates and Joyce Mitchell—and culminated in a dramatic and bloody standoff.
Now Charles A. Gardner—a lifelong resident of the community and a former correction officer who began his training at Clinton and ultimately oversaw the training of staff in twelve prisons, including Clinton—tells the whole story from an insider’s point of view.
From the lax ethics and sexual hunger that drove Joyce Mitchell to fraternize with Matt and Sweat, smuggle them tools, and offer to be their getaway driver, to the state budget cuts that paved the way for prison corruption, to the brave and tireless efforts to bring the escaped killers to justice, Dannemora is a gripping account of the circumstances that led to the bold breakout and the twenty-three-day search that culminated in one man dead, and one man back in custody—and lingering questions about those who set the deadly drama in motion.
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Charles Gardner’s eye-opening, provocative new book about the 2015 prison escape of convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat is a unique perspective from this author, a lifelong resident of New York’s North Country and 25-year corrections professional. Gardner answers important questions as to how the violent criminals were able to break out of a maximum-security facility, who helped them, and why. The book shows the heroic behavior of law enforcement as well as local civilians during the three-week manhunt. With meticulous detail, Dannemora provides a dramatic timeline of a true story, full of shocking twists and turns, and close-up portraits of the people who lived it. I was deeply engrossed in this story, which I thought I knew — that is, until now.
Dannemora is an exciting read, full of shocking revelations about the prison escape of two stone-cold killers, the high-level bad decisions that allowed it to happen, and the heroic law enforcement efforts in the three-week manhunt. Charles Gardner takes us behind the scenes of a community under lockdown. Don’t miss this stunning true story.
Some say the justice system doesn’t work or is warped. They may be partially correct. But there are those in the system who devote themselves tirelessly to make it work. If you want to know who they are, you must read this book. It is more than just a page-turner — it is a true story about people who are dedicated to seeking justice.
Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State by Charles A. Gardner is the real deal. It’s all true down to the minutest detail, but reads like a New York Times bestselling thriller. It tells the stories of David Sweat and Richard Matt and their daring escape from Dannemora State Prison, a maximum security prison in upstate New York. It shows how they manipulated correctional officers and civilian staff members into aiding them in their escape.
Gardner, a municipal court judge and a retired correctional officer, writes with authority. He writes as only someone with insider knowledge can. I have read many books like Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State and most of them have failed to keep me turning the pages nonstop until I reached the end. Most of them bored me because they were nothing more than info dumps. Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State was one of the few exceptions. Gardner held me enthralled from the very first page. He writes such vivid description and dialogue that I felt as if I was right there with the people he wrote about. Perhaps some of that may be because I have firsthand knowledge of many of the place he writes about. Perhaps some of that may be because I know some LEOs that were involved in the manhunt. Still, if I hadn’t known the places and people involved in this tale, I would have felt as if I had after reading this book.
If the vivid description isn’t enough, and he paints very vivid verbal pictures of what is taking place at every turn, the book includes thirty photographs that bring the story to life.
Very well researched and written- so interesting
Entirely procedural, written by an employee of the corrections system. I agree with his point of view, having worked in a prison too. You may not like it if you have a dislike of police or a soft heart for the lawbreakers.
A frank presentation of how the prison system in New York state failed allowing two convicted sadistic murderers to escape. Makes you wonder if the same issues exist in the prison systems in other states.
Couldn’t believe the audacity of this pair of convicted criminals, and the stupidity of a lovelorn female guard. Happy she’s serving time; her husband should also serve for keeping quiet and not notifying the authorities about all the contraband she was getting into the prison. Sad and selfish individuals are all around this prison that are being supported by the poor taxpayer. There is so much injustice in this world.
This is a bit of a personal story for me. I’m not from Clinton, I’m from Syracuse. It’s not that far away. I knew a lot of kids from the area, growing up. I spent time there. (I didn’t do time there, but I’m familiar enough with the terrain that I didn’t have to look anything up on a map.) I remember when this jailbreak happened, not so much because it was only four years ago but because it happened in places I knew, where people I knew and loved could reasonably be expected to go.
Gardner’s narrative is surprisingly sympathetic to the two escapees, at least for the earlier parts of their lives. It’s not surprising that a correctional officer would have some sympathy for children with difficult lives – COs are people, like you and me. They spend hours upon hours locked up with the people they’re guarding. Fraternization is frowned upon, but people are going to converse.
And let’s face it. The natural instinct, when a person is incarcerated, is to escape. A child does it as soon as they figure out there’s something interesting outside of their play pen.
Gardner doesn’t cut them any slack once their choices start hurting other people, nor should he. He is still able to follow their logic well enough to tell the story, which means he has to be able to relate to them. He may not like them or the choices they made, or the impact they had on his community, but he gives us insight into their mindsets nevertheless.
Gardner reserves most of his vitriol, and the bulk of his blame for the whole mess, on Albany. I remember that being the sentiment back home at the time, but that’s kind of how things roll there. It’s part of our morning ritual: roll out of bed, drink coffee, raise a giant middle finger toward Albany, move on with your day. In Dannemora, Gardner outlines the many bureaucratic, political, and human failures that led to several weeks of terror in these remote communities.
He also takes pains to show just how tied into the community the prisons are, and vice versa. Everyone up in that area has at least one family member employed in one of the prisons. They are the major employer, and have been for a long time. People are to some extent prepared for a jail break, but it also makes every prison incident or jail break deeply personal.
Dannemora gives readers an unprecedented amount of insight into an event, an institution, a community, and a system most people prefer not to think about. It’s fascinating in its own right, but as a writer who deals in crime and law enforcement (and sending people into places just like Clinton…) I found it to be an invaluable resource. I might have even already worked some of the building details into a manuscript. You can’t go wrong picking this book up.
Too many details about the area , I thought it was going to just be about the escaped convicts.
Well written true crime story. Kept me engrossed to the end.
I received an advanced copy of this book book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book because I was looking for a break from my typical reading of contemporary romance novels. I am very happy that I was given the opportunity to read and review this book. One reason I requested this title was because I remember when it was in the news, but the other is because I was born and raised in this part on NY and it makes it all mean so much more.
I really like all of the insight and background info this author was able to give. He made it feel like a really good episode of Dateline or Lock-up! Many people are to blame for what happened, besides the obvious few, there are those that tried to report the inappropriate relationships but gave up or turned a blind eye. Mitchell’s husband and her employers should be held accountable as well. The MOST DISGUSTING display of arrogance came from Governor Cuomo – I just can’t understand how the public voted him back into office. This is just another wonderful example of what is wrong with out world today – certain officials will always be ABOVE the law!