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Top U.S. prison escapes (10 images)

A look at some extraordinary prison breaks in American history



John Dillinger
Notorious bank robber John Dillinger escaped from jail twice. In 1933, Dillinger was captured in Lima, Ohio. His gang came to the rescue, impersonating Indiana State Police officers and shooting the sheriff after he asked for their credentials, before releasing Dillinger from his cell. A year later, Dillinger escaped from a reportedly "escape-proof" county jail in Indiana, using a fake gun made of wood and blackened with shoe polish. Gangster John Dillinger is seen here in this undated file photo.
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Jonathan Tieu, Hossein Nayeri, and Bac Tien Duong
On January 26, 2016, three Orange County maximum security inmates escaped. Jonathan Tieu, 20; Hossein Nayeri, 37; and Bac Tien Duong, 43, cut through steel bars, navigated plumbing tunnels, and used a rope made out of bed sheets to rappel off the roof. Authorities arrested 10 people in the week following the escape, including the jail's English teacher, for their alleged involvement in the prison break. Duong turned himself into authorities on January 29 and the other two were caught on January 31. Photo courtesy of The Orange County Sheriff’s Department


The Libby Prison escape
During the Civil War, over 100 Union POWs escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, a Confederate prison known for its cruel treatment, including poor living conditions and starvation rations. After squeezing through a narrow tunnel, 59 soldiers successfully returned to Union lines, while 48 were captured and two drowned in the nearby James River. Pictured: Union soldiers march during the reenactment of the Battle of Bull Run at Brawner Farm in Manassas, Virginia on July 24, 2011. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
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David Sweat and Richard Matt
On June 6, 2015, inmates and convicted murderers Richard Matt (R) and David Sweat (L), escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. A prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, was charged with aiding their escape. Matt, who had previously managed to escape jail at age 19, was shot and killed by police on June 26, 2015. Two days later, Sweat was captured near the Canadian border. Photo courtesy of The New York State Police


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