Morgan Freeman explores real-life prison breaks that have captured the attention of the public, showcasing an up close and personal view of what the prisoners are faced with in executing their break outs.
Alcatraz
Four men conspire to break out of one of the most notorious prisons in American history. Three make it to the water's edge... but what happened to them when they left the island remains a mystery to this day.
North Country Breakout
Stuck in prison on life sentences, two men used engineering smarts and psychological manipulation of several prison employees to escape Dannemora Prison; Richard Matt and David Sweat executed one of the most involved escapes from an American prison.
El Chapo
El Chapo became one of the most notorious and murderous drug cartel kingpins in modern history. His audacious escapes from maximum-security prisons in Mexico became the stuff of legends. He is now in a US supermax prison in Colorado where he is remanded to this day.
Conquering the Wall
Six men, led by the mastermind, Nuno Pontes, escaped Pittsburgh State Penitentiary by tunneling to freedom under the massive wall of the prison. They made it as far as Texas before being caught and returned to prison.
Escaping Hitler
Allied prisoners used all kinds of forgery and engineering tactics to tunnel out of a German Prisoner of War camp. Almost all were caught, fifty were executed and three made their way to freedom.
Belfast Breakout
Almost forty prisoners locked up in HM Maze prison for actions undertaken as members of the IRA, escaped in a food truck. Many were caught right away, some years later, and some were never seen again.
Fleeing Hellmira
Timothy Vail and Timothy Morgan were murderers incarcerated at Elmira State Prison in Elmira, N.Y.;. Vail wanted to escape, so he engaged Morgan in his plan to dig through the ceiling and flee from prison.
Assassin's Flight
James Earl Ray, confessed killer of MLK, was a notorious escape artist. His most audacious escape involved manufacturing a ladder made of plumbing pipe and going over the wall of the Brushy Mountain State Prison.
