You must have seen prison escape cases on TV. Although prison escapes are not very common, they happen often. Whenever there is such a case, it draws a lot of media and public attention.
Over the decades, there have been many prison escapes and some of them are worth mentioning. In this post, we are going to talk about the top 5 prison escapes of all time. If you get easily intrigued by these types of cases, you may find this article worth reading.
John Herbert Dillinger
John Dillinger Jr. robbed two American banks during the Depression period. He managed to escape the prison bars not once but twice. He was friends with some of the seasoned bank robbers. They taught him how to successfully rob a bank. After getting out of jail during the Great Depression, he immediately returned to crime.
He was once arrested in 1933 and then again in 1934. He once fooled a guard to unlock his cell and then took several men hostage to escape the prison. He escaped police across four states before getting killed in a shoot-out in Chicago.
Yoshie Shiratori
Yoshie Shiratori is well-known for his prison escape cases. He managed to break free four times in just three years. He was convicted of murder charges and was sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment.
He first escaped in 1936 and then again in 1942. In 1944, he used some tricks to rusted his handcuffs and run away from Abashiri prison. However, he was captured in 1946. Later, he was sentenced to death by the Sapporo District Court. This made him desperate to escape the prison in 1947. He dug a tunnel and escaped, but was recaptured in 1948. Later his death sentence was revoked and he ended up serving 26 years before being released in 1961.
Ronnie Arthur Biggs
Ronald Arthur Biggs is best known for robbing a train in 1963. He lived 36 years as a fugitive until he voluntarily surrendered in 2001. He was soon arrested after his role in the Great Train Robbery. He served 19 months in prison before escaping from Wandsworth Prison in 1965. He used a rope ladder to climb down into a waiting van.
He then fled to Brussels via boat. Later, he went to Paris and adopted a new identity, and even underwent plastic surgery. He spent 36 years in Brazil and Australia before voluntarily returning to the UK. He served an 8-year long sentence after he was captured. He was then released on compassionate grounds in 2009.
John Gerard
John Gerard is the only person who ever managed to escape from the Tower of London. He was imprisoned for preaching his Catholic beliefs during a time when the church was under immense persecution from Elizabethan England.
During his time in prison, he was often tortured for information. He was later sentenced to death for his crime. This led him to desperately find a way to escape. He somehow communicated with his allies outside the prison. He then used a rope to get down into a boat rowed by his allies into the Tower’s moat. He successfully escaped prison and spent the rest of his life in Rome.
Alfred George Hinds
Alfred Hinds managed to escape three high-security prisons to cut short his 12-year prison sentence. He first escaped from Nottingham prison in 1958. After spending more than half a year free, he was captured again. However, he brought a lawsuit against the authorities which helped him to be escorted to the Law Courts.
His third escape was from Chelmsford Prison. He fled to Ireland and spent almost two years there. Later he was arrested for driving an unregistered car.
These are some of the iconic prison escapes of all time. You can find more such cases on the internet. Hopefully, you liked reading these cases.