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Investigation of the June 5, 2015 Escape of Inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt from Clinton Correctional Facility

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Investigation of the June 5, 2015 Escape of Inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt from Clinton Correctional Facility State of New York Office of the Inspector General Investigation of the June 5, 2015 Escape of Inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt from Clinton Correctional Facility June 2016 Catherine Leahy Scott Inspector General STAFF FOR THIS INVESTIGATION AND REPORT SPENCER FREEDMAN JAMES CARROLL ELEANORE RUSSOMANNO Executive Deputy Inspector Deputy Chief Investigator Investigative Auditor General (Downstate Region) (Upstate Region) MICHELE HOST DENNIS GRAVES JASON FAZIO Chief Counsel Supervising Investigative Investigator Auditor (Upstate Region) (Upstate Region) JAMES R. DAVIS Deputy Inspector General FRANK RISLER ROBERTO SANTANA (Upstate) Chief Investigator Investigator Digital Forensics Lab (Downstate Region) BERNARD S. COSENZA Deputy Inspector General PETER AMOROSA JOSHUA WAITE of Investigations Investigative Auditor Senior Investigator (Upstate Region) (Upstate Region) SHERRY AMAREL Chief Investigator JOHN MILGRIM ROBERT PAYNE (Upstate Region) Special Deputy for Investigator Communications (Upstate Region) JAMES L. BREEN Investigative Counsel (Upstate) JEFFREY HAGEN GARY WATERS Deputy Inspector General Investigator DANIEL WALSH (Western Region) (Upstate Region) Deputy Chief Investigator (Upstate Region) STEPHEN DEL GIACCO STEPHANIE WORETH Director of Investigative Investigator ERIN BACH–LLOYD Reporting (Upstate Region) Investigator (Upstate Region) (Upstate Region) KATHERINE GEARY ANA PENN AMY T. TRIDGELL Special Assistant Investigator (Upstate Region) Director of Investigative (Upstate Region) Reporting (Downstate Region) JEFFREY HABER KELLY YATES Investigator (Upstate Region) JONATHAN MASTERS Special Assistant Director of Investigative (Upstate Region) JOHN JURS Reporting Investigator (Upstate Region) and Special Counsel Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 The Causes of the June 5, 2015 Escape .................................................................................................... 2 Summary of Recommendations of the Inspector General ........................................................................ 9 Methodology of the Inspector General’s Investigation ........................................................................... 10 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Clinton Correctional Facility .................................................................................................................. 12 The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ................................................................ 12 DOCCS’s Division of Industries at Clinton ............................................................................................ 13 THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF THE ESCAPE OF SWEAT AND MATT ............................ 14 Preliminary Note ..................................................................................................................................... 14 David Sweat and Richard Matt ............................................................................................................... 14 Sweat and Matt Fired From and Regain Prison Tailor Shop Jobs .......................................................... 16 Housing in Honor Block ......................................................................................................................... 18 Joyce Mitchell’s Improper Conduct in Tailor Shop 1 ............................................................................. 20 Matt and Sweat Manipulate Correction Officer Eugene Palmer and Others .......................................... 23 Sweat Removed from Tailor Shop 1 ....................................................................................................... 26 Matt Cultivates a Relationship with Joyce Mitchell ............................................................................... 30 The Decision to Escape and the First Tools Smuggled by Mitchell ....................................................... 34 Mitchell’s First Delivery of Hacksaw Blades ......................................................................................... 38 Sweat and Matt Cut Through Their Cell Walls ...................................................................................... 39 Holes in Cell Walls Go Undetected ........................................................................................................ 41 Sweat Begins Search for Escape Route Under Prison ............................................................................ 46 Breaching the Brick Wall ........................................................................................................................ 50 Sweat Reaches the Inside of the Prison’s Main Wall ............................................................................. 52 Mitchell Smuggles in More Tools and Joins Plan to Leave with Matt and Sweat ................................. 58 Mitchell and Matt Have Sexual Encounters in the Shop ........................................................................ 60 Mitchell and Matt Discuss Murdering Mitchell’s Husband .................................................................... 64 Matt Seeks Mitchell’s Help in Retrieving a Package from Outside the Prison ...................................... 66 Sweat Cuts into the Steam Pipe .............................................................................................................. 68 Sweat Breaches the Prison’s Main Wall and Conducts Test Run of Escape .......................................... 72 Two Incidents Imperil Escape Plan ........................................................................................................ 75 Sweat’s and Matt’s Final Preparations .................................................................................................... 77 The Escape, Then an Encounter on the Street ........................................................................................ 79 Mitchell Goes to the Hospital with a “Panic Attack” ............................................................................. 82 Sweat’s and Matt’s Empty Cells Discovered .......................................................................................... 82 Mitchell, Palmer, and Sweat Are Charged with Criminal Acts .............................................................. 84 ANALYSIS OF FACTORS IN THE ESCAPE OF SWEAT AND MATT ............................................... 87 Failure to Properly Search Employee Bags at the Front Gate ................................................................ 88 Night Counts of Inmates ......................................................................................................................... 92 Cell Searches ......................................................................................................................................... 102 Cell/Razor and Catwalk Inspections to Ensure Cell Integrity .............................................................. 108 Tunnel Inspections ................................................................................................................................ 109 Tool Control .......................................................................................................................................... 110 Metal Detectors ..................................................................................................................................... 111 Utility Markings on Industry Building Wall ......................................................................................... 112 Ineffective Supervision and Mismanagement in the Tailor Shops ....................................................... 113 DOCCS and Clinton Management Oversight of Clinton Security ....................................................... 123 The May 31, 2015 Inmate Melee and Request for a Lockdown ........................................................... 127 OSI’s Investigations of Mitchell’s January 2015 Complaint ................................................................ 130 The 2003 Escape of Two Convicted Murderers from Elmira Correctional Facility ............................. 133 Deficiencies in DOCCS Training of Security and Civilian Staff.......................................................... 137 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL .................................... 140 Oversight of DOCCS is Required to Ensure the Integrity of the System ............................................. 140 Front Gate Security ............................................................................................................................... 141 Night Shift Counts ................................................................................................................................ 142 Cell Searches ......................................................................................................................................... 144 Tunnel Security and Inspections ........................................................................................................... 145 Catwalks ...............................................................................................................................................
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