EDITORIAL: Eight years since daring prison escape

Jun. 8—It was eight years ago yesterday that inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora and set off a massive manhunt in the state's North Country.

The search lasted for 23 days and was of particular interest locally as one of the escapees, Matt, had been convicted in 2008 to 25 years to life for the killing and dismemberment of a North Tonawanda businessman.

Matt was eventually killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer during the hunt; Sweat was shot and captured by state troopers two days later when he was spotted less than two miles from the Canadian border.

Sweat had been the mastermind behind the plot that called for the pair to make their way through the bowels of the prison infrastructure, leading through pipes beneath the concrete walls that encased the penitentiary.

For police officers, sheriff's deputies and state troopers, it set in motion hours upon hours of wading through thick woods, knocking on doors and remaining prepared to come upon either one or two convicted killers at a moment's notice.

Some suggested that the amount of manpower and resources devoted to the search was overkill.

For police detectives, prosecuting attorneys, judges, witnesses and the family members of victims who dealt firsthand with the likes of Matt and Sweat, there was no such thing as "too much" when it came to tracking down both escapees.

For three weeks, the search areas were covered by as many as 1,500 law enforcement officers scouring the woods and roads in search of the two convicted murderers.

The manhunt captivated the nation and had some local residents wondering if Matt might eventually make his way back to Western New York.

Then Matt was found and killed after the two had split up. Sweat's capture came, in part, due to quick thinking by veteran state trooper, Sgt. Jay Cook, who was alone and on routine patrol when he stumbled upon the fugitive in the northern New York town of Constable. He gave chase when Sweat fled, deciding to fire upon him when he thought he might lose him in the trees.

Cook's actions led to Sweat's arrest and ended the ordeal.

Once again, we tip our caps to the hundreds of law enforcement officials who spent nearly a month doggedly searching the woods for the two men, keeping them desperate and on the run. Their efforts likely prevented further tragedy.

A year after the escape, the Inspector General's Office released its report on the failed security system that resulted in the massive manhunt for the prisoners. It did not paint Clinton Correctional in a very good light with the central element of the report emphasizing the "chronic complacency and systemic failures of security procedures" in the prison paved the way for the breakout. Most attention initially focused on two prison employees, a prison tailor shop worker and corrections officer, who pleaded guilty to their roles in aiding the escapees.

In the years since, recognition of those deficiencies have led to reforms at prisons across the state, and likely across the country.