![]() ![]() "I'm fascinated by the story of the escapees and especially this Leggett or Leggins or Leggings fellow," said Sturgess, 87, a retired high school teacher and a founding member of the Ravena-Coeymans Historical Society. He also consulted the Plattsburgh Sentinel and other local papers that covered the Dannemora escapes. Sturges thumbed through bound copies of the News-Herald of Coeymans and happened upon the extensive coverage of Leggins' escape and his months on the lam a century ago. "I didn't think Cuomo was correct, and I wanted to check the record." "I saw that the governor said that and it spurred me to consult our local newspaper," said Harry Sturges, historian for the town of Coeymans. That erroneous information was circulated widely on social media and picked up in news accounts during the initial days of the investigation. The following day, Sunday, Cuomo told ABC News: "This was the first breakout since 1865, and I want to make sure that it's the last." He added in the ABC interview: "I'm sure they knew that since it was the first escape it was going to be a big deal."Ĭuomo's remarks and similar comments from other local officials were inexactly paraphrased later to suggest that Matt and Sweat were the prison's first escapees in 150 years. Andrew Cuomo toured the prison and inspected the derring-do of the escape by Matt and Sweat that included cutting through thick cell walls and a metal steam pipe, and crawling through a municipal sewer's manhole to freedom.Īt his June 6 Dannemora press conference Cuomo said: "This is a first time in this institution's history that anyone has escaped from the maximum security portion of this facility." The lengthy list of Dannemora escapees turned on its head the initial narrative of the impenetrability of the prison nicknamed "Little Siberia." Gov. The majority were recaptured within a few days, but dozens remained at large for months, and there is no record that at least seven of the escapees from that era were ever recaptured. ![]() But a dozen escaped from within the walls, including breakouts from the boiler room, chapel and hospital wing. Most inmates slipped away from the farm, road gangs or other less-secure surroundings. Their escapes were recorded on a typewritten list compiled by prison staff and kept in the collections of the State Archives. Leggins, aka Leggings and Leggett, was among nearly 70 prisoners who escaped from Dannemora between 19. ![]() He was recaptured in Albany four days later and returned to prison at Dannemora, where he was stripped of his trusty status. He broke out of the Coxsackie lockup that same day. Instead, Leggins remained on the lam for several months before he was recaptured more than three months later in Coxsackie on Nov. The dogs tracked the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Leggins to nearby Chazy Lake, where investigators presumed he drowned. Warden John Trombly posted a $50 reward for his capture. He bolted from custody wearing his regulation prison uniform of gray trousers and striped shirt. The 28-year-old trusty - or prisoner who had been given special privileges because of good behavior - was serving an 18-month sentence for grand larceny. The Matt and Sweat imbroglio, however, did not eclipse the level of subterfuge in the escape of George Leggins of Coxsackie, who broke away on July 31, 1915, from a farm outside Dannemora's walls. The dramatic escape last month of Richard Matt and David Sweat and this summer's tantalizing three-week, multimillion-dollar manhunt became a national media sensation and featured enough intrigue to drive a cinematic thriller. A prisoner from Albany County escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, was tracked by bloodhounds and eluded a massive search by prison guards across the Adirondacks that went on for several weeks before he was recaptured. ![]()
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