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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Prison Break (Open Thread)

Prison Break (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  June 11, 201511:29 am| 51 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Assholes, General Stupidity

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Okay, the Dannemora break was a bit like Shawshank. Sometimes life imitates art, that's all. Except these are bad, bad boys.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 10, 2015

I’m finding this prison break story fascinating for some reason. From an NBC report, valued commenter Rikyrah speculates that a prison worker might have imagined herself the star of a Lifetime Channel movie:

Joyce Mitchell, the New York prison worker being questioned in the escape of two murderers, was charmed by one of the inmates and planned to be their getaway driver until she got cold feet, sources familiar with the case told NBC News.

One of the inmates, Richard Matt, established a relationship with Mitchell over a couple of months, the sources said.

“She thought it was love,” one said.

Instead of being the getaway driver, Mitchell went to the hospital and checked herself in, the sources said. As NBC News has previously reported, Mitchell checked in on Saturday, the day the inmates were reported missing, with “a case of nerves.”

How fucking stupid would you have to be to do something like that? I hope this scenario doesn’t prove to be the case; it would make me ashamed to be an egg carrier.

Other reports indicate that bloodhounds have picked up a strong scent near the prison. It amuses me that drone-carried air particle evaluation devices haven’t replaced good old doggies on tracking duty. Anyhoo, anyone want to hazard a guess on when the escapees will be nabbed?

Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

51Comments

  1. 1.

    WereBear

    June 11, 2015 at 11:39 am

    A lonely person will believe anything. It happens over and over.

    Flip the sexes, and it’s the basis of 95% of film noir.

    That’s the seductive appeal of the psycho lover. They will be what you want them to be.

  2. 2.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 11, 2015 at 11:40 am

    Put me down for by the end of today for the recapture.

    I hope this scenario doesn’t prove to be the case; it would make me ashamed to be an egg carrier.

    Could be worse; could be a sperm carrier and you look at the GOP Presidential candidates and be ashamed. B Barry Bamz all by himself just does not erase the taint of those chuckleheads.

  3. 3.

    srv

    June 11, 2015 at 11:41 am

    All those foreign contacts you listed on your SF/DD forms? Xie xie:

    WASHINGTON — Investigators say that the Chinese hackers who attacked the databases of the Office of Personnel Management may have obtained the names of Chinese relatives, friends and frequent associates of American diplomats and other government officials, information that Beijing could use for blackmail or retaliation.

  4. 4.

    Lee

    June 11, 2015 at 11:44 am

    I’m not sure they will ever replace bloodhounds. They really are amazing in their abilities.

  5. 5.

    Belafon

    June 11, 2015 at 11:47 am

    Men and women have sex with high school students, and a lot of the women get pregnant on purpose. An adult young woman has an affair with a president, involving cigars. As WereBear said, lonely people will do things that they might even know they shouldn’t.

  6. 6.

    beltane

    June 11, 2015 at 11:47 am

    @Lee: They also haven’t been able to replace truffle hunting dogs or pigs. The olfactory sense is still not completely understood, at least to the point where it can be easily replicated.

  7. 7.

    Brachiator

    June 11, 2015 at 11:50 am

    Joyce Mitchell, the New York prison worker being questioned in the escape of two murderers, was charmed by one of the inmates and planned to be their getaway driver until she got cold feet, sources familiar with the case told NBC News.

    I repeat my question from another thread…

    Does anyone know her opinion of the movie, “Goodfellas?”

  8. 8.

    bystander

    June 11, 2015 at 11:52 am

    The best part of the story?

    “The cop who put Richard Matt behind bars the last time around commented that the … was “very handsome” when he scrubbed up and is “in all frankness, very well-endowed”.”

    She’s not just a dupe. She’s a size queen, too.

    Meanwhile both Christopher Lee and Ron Moody have passed away.

  9. 9.

    H.K. Anders

    June 11, 2015 at 11:57 am

    If bloodhounds have picked up a scent, I’m guessing they escapees will be back in custody or dead by dinner time.

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Couldn’t possibly care less.

  11. 11.

    Brachiator

    June 11, 2015 at 11:58 am

    More mischief in the name of “deeply held religious beliefs”

    North Carolina court officials can opt out of presiding over same-sex marriages for religious objections, state lawmakers decided on Wednesday, overriding a veto of the bill by Governor Pat McCrory.

    McCrory had vetoed the bill two weeks ago, saying: “No public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath.”

    But the Republican-led state senate then overrode McCrory’s veto 32-16, and the House followed suit with just over three-fifths voting to make the measure law.

    Magistrates and registers of deeds can now decide not to administer same-sex marriages if they feel a “sincerely held religious objection”.

    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/11/north-carolina-religious-exemption-gay-marriage

  12. 12.

    JPL

    June 11, 2015 at 11:58 am

    The woman will soon learn, her relationship has consequences. I wonder what prison she’ll go to?

  13. 13.

    Tom Q

    June 11, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    Given the seduced-by-inmate plot, the movie that more comes to mind is Mrs. Soffel, a 1984 Diane Keaton/Mel Gibson period piece (based on a true story) about just such an escape. I like the movie, though a lot of people I know find it dull. I guess it’s too forgotten for anyone to cite.

  14. 14.

    redshirt

    June 11, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    I know they are bad guys, but I can’t help but root for anyone on the run from the police.

    Fuck the police.

  15. 15.

    beltane

    June 11, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    @Tom Q: There was a similar, though more recent, story from Oklahoma: http://abcnews.go.com/US/oklahoma-jail-wardens-wife-found-guilty-helping-inmate/story?id=14572638

    Then there’s the category of women who correspond, and fall in love with men serving life sentences.

  16. 16.

    Iowa Old Lady

    June 11, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    @Brachiator: Rachel Maddow’s been on this too. She points out that public officials could refuse to marry inter-racial couples or divorced people or Muslims if they had religious objection.

  17. 17.

    shell

    June 11, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    “A case of nerves”? Last time I heard that phrase was from my grandmother.

    The latest spot they’re looking at is the State of Vermont. Funny, I just assumed they’d take off for Canada.

  18. 18.

    Brachiator

    June 11, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    @beltane:

    Then there’s the category of women who correspond, and fall in love with men serving life sentences.

    There’s a logical reason for this. The women always know where their boyfriends are at night.

    .
    @Iowa Old Lady

    Rachel Maddow’s been on this too. She points out that public officials could refuse to marry inter-racial couples or divorced people or Muslims if they had religious objection.

    These laws are insane and can easily expand beyond their original malicious intent.

  19. 19.

    shell

    June 11, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    Christopher Lee

    Oh no!
    Well, at least he was able to keep acting almost to the end.

  20. 20.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    June 11, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    @bystander: I was waiting to see who beat me to posting that. I’ve chuckled about that since I read it. Then I remember these are stone nasty killers and sober up.

    Go Team Bloodhound. I’d like 4:45 pm in the pool please.

  21. 21.

    Brachiator

    June 11, 2015 at 12:30 pm

    Must be something in the water…This

    A US critic who claimed that “women don’t get Goodfellas” has been at the centre of a Twitter storm after his article was published yesterday.

    In a piece called Women are not capable of understanding GoodFellas, Kyle Smith, the New York Post’s chief film critic, refers to women as “the sensitivity police” who would disapprove of the “ball-busting” that takes place throughout Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic.

    Smith says that women think the lead characters are lowlifes, while men see them as heroes.

    http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/11/women-not-capable-understanding-goodfellas-new-york-post-critic-kyle-smith

    And this…

    A Nobel laureate who said that scientists should work in gender-segregated labs and that the trouble with “girls” is that they cause men to fall in love with them has resigned from his position at University College London (UCL).

    Tim Hunt, an English biochemist who admitted that he had a reputation for being a “chauvinist”, had made the comments at the World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul, South Korea, where he said: “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls … three things happen when they are in the lab … You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticise them, they cry.”

    http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/11/nobel-laureate-sir-tim-hunt-resigns-trouble-with-girls-comments

  22. 22.

    Tenar Darell

    June 11, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    @Brachiator: It’s not just gay couples. I believe it was written broadly enough that interracial or even couples with different religions could be refused a license. ETA Like everyone else said. Should of read down the thread, dagnabbit!

  23. 23.

    Tenar Darell

    June 11, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    @Brachiator: They’re talking about the imaginary “woman” that lives in their heads.

    Of course, regarding Tim Hunt, turns out testosterone is a stressor of lab animals, so men should probably get out of the lab entirely for any animal models that don’t require stress. /heh

  24. 24.

    Betty Cracker

    June 11, 2015 at 12:48 pm

    @redshirt: Since the escapees seem capable of killing innocent people to steal their cars / hide out in their homes, etc., I’m on Team Bloodhound myself.

    @Brachiator: Fuck that sexist knob. I’m a woman, and I love “Goodfellas.”

  25. 25.

    gopher2b

    June 11, 2015 at 12:50 pm

    @shell:

    I get why everyone thinks that but it would not be a smart move. Contrary to popular belief, that border is tough to cross. Yes, there are unguarded/unmonitored sections but you have to know where they are. And once you get to Quebec, then what? It’s still all small towns where everyone knows everyone and now all the signage is in French.

    Source: I grew up near the prison.

  26. 26.

    Brachiator

    June 11, 2015 at 12:56 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Fuck that sexist knob. I’m a woman, and I love “Goodfellas.”

    This is why I loved one of the Twitter posts:

    Thelma Schoonmaker was not capable of understanding ‘GoodFellas’

    Schoomaker, of course, edited the damn film.

  27. 27.

    gopher2b

    June 11, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    @JPL:

    I’m thinking they are definitely going to regret this move. They’ll spend the rest of their lives in solitary and by all accounts, they had the run of the place. They were in the monitored block, could wear street clothes, had extra rec time, and one of them even scored a girlfriend. Yeah, she’s a little too frumpy for my taste, but I’m not in prison.

    Plus, it’s been nothing but torrential rain since they got out. Sleeping in that mess has to be getting old!

  28. 28.

    MattF

    June 11, 2015 at 12:58 pm

    Why stick around the prison? I think being several timezones away would be smarter.

  29. 29.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    June 11, 2015 at 1:02 pm

    @MattF: Perhaps there are some travel difficulties given that their driver seems to be a bit under the weather and in the hospital with a case of nerves.

  30. 30.

    burnspbesq

    June 11, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    Meanwhile, this. I’m getting ready to vomit.

    http://justsecurity.org/23730/latest-ridiculous-guantanamo-amendment-unconstitutional/

  31. 31.

    LWA (Liberal With Attitude)

    June 11, 2015 at 1:07 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Smith says that women think the lead characters are lowlifes, while men see them as heroes.

    What’s hilarious is that the guys in Goodfellas WERE lowlifes. That’s the whole point, is that beneath the frat boy camaraderie, none of them could be trusted, and they were invariably brutal and self absorbed pricks.

    Mebbe somebody should tell this Smith guy to go get his shoeshine kit.

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    June 11, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    @gopher2b:
    I suppose if Mr. Matt was concerned he was scoring below his standards he could have watched “Seven Beauties” to find out how it’s really done.

    Unquestionably, that guy in particular needs to be behind bars. Make them thick ones.

    After serving several more years in prison, in December 1997 Matt kidnapped, killed, and dismembered his former boss, 76-year-old food broker William Rickerson. Believing that Rickerson had large sums of money, Matt and his accomplice, Lee E. Bates, beat and tortured the man in his home. Then they bound Rickerson with duct tape, threw him in the trunk of a car, and set out on a 27-hour drive. Bates, who served 15 years for his role in the murder, told CNN this week, “Torture is probably an understatement.” He saw Matt shove a knife sharpener in Rickerson’s ear, bend his fingers back until the bones cracked, and snap his neck with his bare hands. Rickerson’s dismembered remains were dumped in the Niagara River.

    –NY Mag

  33. 33.

    Mike in NC

    June 11, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    Media is working overtime to fear-monger the entire country over these escaped killers. They’re more dangerous than ISIS and Ebola combined!

  34. 34.

    MattF

    June 11, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    @Mike in NC: …and it’s Obama’s fault.

  35. 35.

    MattF

    June 11, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    This North Carolina law has been passed over the Governor’s veto. The new statute apparently allows magistrates to decline to perform any marriage for any religious reason. Too bad for you, if you’re not a Christian.

  36. 36.

    Anonymous At Work

    June 11, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    @beltane: Truffles are a multi-billion dollar industry and people have been trying to replace truffle-sniffing-and-eating pigs with something as good at sniffing but not eating…for hundreds of years…
    Bloodhounds and scent trails are the same way, only no Wall Street nouveau riche or old-money snobs paying to get better results.

  37. 37.

    beltane

    June 11, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    @MattF: Or even not the right type of Christian.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 11, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Didn’t really think I’d ever find myself on McCrory’s side of, well, anything.

  39. 39.

    WereBear

    June 11, 2015 at 2:08 pm

    @trollhattan: I agree about the thickness of the bars. Scary guy, and most people would never believe it. He seems to have plenty of that psychopathic charm.

  40. 40.

    Mike in NC

    June 11, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: McCrory is trying to distance himself from the Teabaggers, or at least he’s pretending to as he prepares to run for reelection. I think he knew they’d override the veto.

    This week the Teabaggers in Raleigh are pushing through some NRA bill to greatly water down existing gun laws. Pat won’t object.

  41. 41.

    Starfish

    June 11, 2015 at 2:20 pm

    Betty, you do not seem to remember the Baltimore Jail Corruption story:

    “Thirteen were charged, and four officers were impregnated by White, prosecutors say.”

    Basically, the officers came from the surrounding community where these criminals were big shots, but only the women in those communities had the lack of a criminal background to get the jobs in the jails which paid relatively well for the education level required. Dating a prisoner meant you could always find your man when you needed him.

  42. 42.

    Fred

    June 11, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    They will be caught running a B’n’B in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it is in their dreams.

  43. 43.

    Peale

    June 11, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    @LWA (Liberal With Attitude): Yeah. I didn’t think that even Scorsese thought he was making a film about the high life. Same with Casino. It’s only heroic if you have no moral core, which I guess is what he is arguing. Women have a superior moral core to men, who can’t tell a shitheel from a reverend.

  44. 44.

    Tree With Water

    June 11, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    @Fred: A Family Guy cartoon (in an homage to Shawshank) takes the character Cleveland up to the point where Red uncovers the letter buried with the cash. When he reads aloud, “do you remember the name of that Mexican village”, he concentrates for a moment before shouting in angry frustration, “Damn!”.

  45. 45.

    Sherparick

    June 11, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    @Brachiator: This guy thinks the sociopaths in Goodfellas are “heroes?” Sigh. Really, this guy is a critic? Scorcese’s whole point in the movie was to take the gloss off the gangster.

  46. 46.

    Tree With Water

    June 11, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    “WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says it’s long past time for Hillary Clinton to make clear where she stands on a pending trade deal between the U.S. and Pacific nations that has divided wings of the Democratic Party..”.

    Sanders is right. Her silence is deafening, as if she were playing ball with the administration to insure its passage. Could that possibly be? Personally, I think so (the phrase “self evident” comes to mind). And those in the democratic rank and file who recall her husbands efforts on behalf of NAFTA should damn well resent it. It should piss them off, or so I would hope. Lest we forget, the GOP has closed ranks in support of this trade bill. What does that tell everyone?

    When the chips are down, what the hell good has she ever done the democratic rank and file? Lets start at the beginning of her aborted legislative career, with her wholehearted support of the Bush-Cheney war.

  47. 47.

    narya

    June 11, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    @Tom Q: Except I thought of it immediately.

  48. 48.

    Alice

    June 11, 2015 at 5:44 pm

    It’s not news that prisoners with good “people skills” can manipulate prison employees, even guards. The prison has the responsibility to monitor for this. And especially to protect teachers. The name of the employee was quick to come out, but I haven’t yet seen the name of her supervisors or even the company who runs the prison. Is most of their staffing money is going to tough guys and bullies? Is oversight and protected reporting of abuse considered important? Did other people notice manipulation but were afraid to mention it?

    Not talking about this particular woman, since how do I know. But I think that in general teachers, therapists, grandparents — anyone in the helping professions–can be vulnerable to manipulation by sociopaths. They’re not stupid, but some may not know how to end the situation once they’ve been targeted.

    The way I see it, to encounter and be fooled by a bad guy is a matter of chance, not intelligence. To be able recognize it and end it is a function of personality and stuff related to how your brain explains things to you. To truly escape a seriously dedicated predator takes skills that some have but many don’t. I think a lot of people need outside help to learn how.

    I’ve known intelligent, high functioning people with high level jobs/clearances/responsibilities who are delusional to put it mildly. Vulnerable to manipulation and abuse at the least. Convinced of stuff that isn’t true, or bad at understanding others’ motivations, for sure.

  49. 49.

    Ken T

    June 11, 2015 at 6:28 pm

    I’ve never quite understood the “Shawshank” comparison, since the whole underlying point of the story was that Andy Dufresne was in fact innocent, and escaped only after spending 20 years unjustly imprisoned. That doesn’t sound much like the story of these low lifes.

  50. 50.

    toones

    June 11, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    @MattF: I think you meant “too bad for anyone who lives in NC”

  51. 51.

    Betsy

    June 12, 2015 at 4:32 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: you’re not. He’s trying to rehabilitate himself in time for 2016.

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