Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State

by Charles A. Gardner

Overview

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 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806539249
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	02/26/2019
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Charles A. Gardner is a municipal court judge and retired correction training lieutenant in Malone, New York, the far-upstate town where he was born and raised. His twenty-five-year career in New York State Department of Corrections included working as a correction officer, sergeant, and lieutenant. He had experience working in medium- and maximum-security facilities including stints at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora and the maximum-security prisons of Sing Sing, Bedford Hills, Great Meadow, and Upstate. Gardner served on the Department of Corrections' emergency response team (CERT), which played a critical role in the search for the 2015 prison escapees. He lives with his wife, Penny, and their Samoyeds, in the North Country. Visit him at www.charlesagardner.com.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Inside Honor Block 1

I The Setting 5

1 Day One 7

2 Iron Mines and Iron Bars 12

3 Little Siberia 16

4 Amenities and Accommodations 21

5 Right-Sizing 24

II The Inmates 29

6 Two Hard Cases 31

7 Broken Boy, Broken Toys 36

8 Sweat's Road to Clinton 41

9 Deputy Tarsia's Last Tour 47

10 Boy Bully to Teenage Thug 56

11 Catch and Release 61

12 Murder for Hire 66

13 Gladiator School 72

14 Rickerson's Murder 78

15 Matt Takes a Ride 84

III The Plans, The Schemes 93

16 The Complacent Guard 95

17 Lonely, Undisciplined, Corruptible 100

18 Corcraft's Tailor Shops 103

19 Tailor Shop Troubles 107

20 Romancing and Contraband 112

21 Laying the Foundation 117

IV The Breakout 123

22 Breaching Their Cells 125

23 A Subterranean Struggles 129

24 Mitchell Goes Deep 132

25 Subterranean Struggles 138

26 "Time to Go, Kid!" 145

27 Change in Plans 150

V The Search 155

28 Discovery 157

29 Lockdown, Overtime, and a Media Blitz 162

30 Shelter in Place 167

31 Clinton Strong 174

32 The Pursuit and the Pursued 179

33 The Power of Politics 185

VI The Chase 191

34 Twisted Horn 193

35 Timing Is Everything 198

36 Bounty Hunters and Media Follies 204

37 Escape Route 208

38 The Chase Is On 214

39 The Bromance Ends 219

VII The Reckoning 225

40 Gin and Potshots at Humbug Mountain 227

41 Closing the Box 233

42 Mart's Final Stand 237

43 Press Conference, the Law, and the Locals 241

44 Sweat Runs for the Border 246

45 Sweat Goes Down 251

VIII The Aftermath 257

46 Assigning the Blame 259

47 Final Accounting 266

Acknowledgments 271

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

01/21/2019

Municipal court judge Gardner makes his debut with a gripping account of the daring prison break that was recently the subject of a Showtime miniseries, though the absence of sourcing will be a concern to some readers. In June 2015, convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped their cells at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., through holes they cut in steel walls and the catwalk behind them that led to an underground pipe and the outside world. From there, they were to be driven to safety by Joyce Mitchell, an unhappily married Corrections Department employee responsible for overseeing inmates working in the prison’s tailor shop. Mitchell cultivated relationships with both convicts, and began smuggling contraband to them. But on the night of the breakout, Mitchell was admitted to a hospital for a panic attack, leaving Matt and Sweat to fend for themselves. Eventually, Matt was fatally shot by a border patrol officer in self-defense, and Sweat was apprehended. Gardner’s own background as a former corrections officer in the New York State prison system enables him to focus on root causes that made the escape possible, such as politicians’ cost-cutting decisions that dramatically reduced the amount of staff overseeing the dangerous inmates. True crime fans will be more than satisfied. Agent: Kevin O’Connor, O’Connor Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Dannemora
 
“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.”
—New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum
 
“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.”
—New York Times bestselling author M. William Phelps
 
“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.”
—New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen

“Gripping… Gardner’s own background as a former corrections officer in the New York state prison system enables him to focus on root causes that made the escape possible…True crime fans will be more than satisfied.”
—Publishers Weekly 
 
“Dramatic…. A true community insider’s perspective on a legendary manhunt.”
—Booklist

From the Publisher