The Best In Breakouts
the true crime that's worth your time
Last week was a big one for jail breaks. In London, folks had a wild four days as ex-soldier and suspected terrorist (he’s accused of planting fake bombs, among other things) Daniel Khalife allegedly used bedsheets to tie himself to the bottom of a food delivery truck. He was arrested after four days on the lam.
Meanwhile, Danelo Cavalcante continues to (at least, as of send time) evade capture. Officials says that in April 2021, he fatally stabbed his girlfriend, Déborah Evangelista Brandão; he had just been sentenced to life in that case when he fled from Pennsylvania’s Chester County Prison. This, despite the fact that folks seem to be seeing him everywhere. (The NYT has a good piece on his past and escape; here’s a gift link.)
Neither of these guys are as charming as Clooney in the clip above, but I included that bit from Out of Sight as an example of how deeply romanticized prison escapes have been made by contemporary culture. (Prison Break was on for five whole seasons, for pete’s sake.) There’s a glamour to the effort, a rooting for the rogue undercurrent, even if the escapee actually did it (as is the case in OoS. Even in Leonard’s book, Jack Foley had no one to blame but himself). Admit it, you hope the guys who supposedly made a boat from raincoats to get out of Alcatraz made it to shore. You do.
I want to talk about that undercurrent today, as well as how it jibes with the true-crime reporting and properties we’ve consumed on real prison breaks. I was thinking about diving back into Escape at Dannemora, which I crapped out on when it aired. Good idea, or bad? What prison break documentaries kept your interest? And which have given into the fictional, romantic idea of convicts on the run in a way that made you uncomfortable? Hop into the laundry cart of discussion and let’s dig our way through this one. — EB