Just what are your chances of busting out of jail in the US? Find out which regions see the highest number of prisoner escapes, and see how your state compares for the odds of a break out. We also take a look at some of the most infamous prisons in the world, as well as notorious prisoners who attempted escapes.
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Over the years, some of the most heinous individuals in history have managed to escape their shackles. After a lot of research, we've compiled the worst of the worst to profile the six most notorious prison escapees to ever break free.
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“El Chapo” is a Mexican drug lord who became one of the most wanted men in the world when he was listed as Mexico's top drug kingpin in 2003, as head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Forbes magazine ranked him as one of the most powerful people in the world between 2009 and 2011. The publication also labelled him as the “biggest drug lord of all time”.
The notorious drug baron was first arrested in Guatemala back in 1993 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mexico for drug trafficking and murder. In 2001, Guzman busted out of a federal maximum-security prison after bribing guards. The US offered a $5 million reward for information, and he was arrested a second time by Mexican authorities in Sinaloa back in 2014.
French criminal Payet has established a reputation for his daring escapes from prison where he used hijacked helicopters. In fact, Payet holds the world record for the greatest number of planned escapes from jail using a helicopter. This escape method was used on three separate occasions in 2001, 2003, and 2007, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
He was initially jailed for carrying out a planned attack on an armoured vehicle belonging to Banque de France in the French commune of Salon-de-Provence, where one guard was killed. His current location remains a secret kept by French authorities.
Born on 2nd October, 1889 in Vienna, Austria, Mors was the personification of hell on earth. During his time employed as a porter at the German Old Fellows' Home in Unionport, New York, the psychopathic individual used morphine, opium, and arsenic to murder eight elderly patients between 1914 and 1915.
After being found guilty of murdering his patients, Mors was diagnosed as a megalomaniac and committed to the Hudson River State Hospital before eventually escaping in 1916. Mors was never seen again, but skeletal remains believed to be that of Mors were uncovered in a wooded area in Connecticut.
The Gypsy Hill Killings in the US saw five young females raped and murdered across San Mateo County, California during the early part of 1976. The crime spree remained unsolved before Halbower was charged for two of the murders in 1976.
Halbower was found guilty of the murders of Paula Baxter and Veronica Cascio on 22nd January, 2015 after DNA evidence was used. Halbower had escaped incarceration on three separate occasions during his time in jail for a number of other offences.
The first time US serial killer Bundy escaped was in 1977, during a preliminary hearing at Pitkin County Courthouse in Aspen. Bundy was his own attorney and requested to use the courthouse library to research his case. He then broke free from a second story window.
Bundy's second escape came later in 1977, when he was in jail in Colorado Springs. On 30th December, Bundy broke into the chief jailer's room and was able to walk to freedom.
He was later recaptured, and after being found guilty of three murders in Florida, Bundy was electrocuted to death on 24th January, 1989 in Florida State Prison.
Convicted British killer Walmsley became a notorious individual in May 2014 when he was involved in the violent murder of Anthony Duffy. The crime was the result of a dispute over drugs in the city of Liverpool.
On 21st February, 2017, Walmsley pulled off an audacious escape from HMP Liverpool during a visit to Aintree University Hospital. As Walmsley and two prison guards were getting into the transport vehicle, two men confronted the guards with a knife and gun before setting Walmsley free and escaping in a gold Volvo. To date, Walmsley remains on the run.
It is hardly surprising that prisoners put so much time and effort into plotting to escape the walls that surround them. Incarceration tests every physical and mental attribute, even in the most hospitable of institutions. Here, we cover the prisons that are remembered as the worst of the worst.
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340%
Over the past 30 years, the number of prisoners incarcerated in prisons within the US has increased by 340%, meaning that for every 11.2 prisoners there are now just 2 guards.
3%
Just 3% of all inmates escape at some point during their time behind bars. 89% of these attempts are committed at minimum security facilities.
66%
Two-thirds of successful escape attempts from prisons are single-person jobs. 20% of escapes involve just two people. Only 4% of successful escapes involve 3 or more people.
