In the summer of 2015, David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York through a meticulously planned plot. For months, the inmates cut through cell walls and crawled through underground utility tunnels with tools smuggled in by prison employee Joyce Mitchell. On June 6th, they emerged through a manhole, hoping Mitchell would drive them to freedom. She never showed up.

What followed was a massive three-week manhunt. Matt, who was drinking and unstable on the run, was shot and killed by police on June 26th after firing at a vehicle. Two days later, authorities spotted Sweat walking down a road near the Canadian border. When he ran into nearby woods, the sergeant shot and apprehended him.

During questioning, Sweat provided investigators new details about how the escape happened. He explained how they exploited security gaps, with one guard unwittingly sharing information and Mitchell smuggling blades in meat.