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Prisons were created for one purpose and that’s to keep people inside. The confinement also serves as a deterrence to other criminals and as a potential place of rehabilitation and recompense. Throughout history, some prisons have been advertised as being inescapable, but as with many things in life, give a person a challenge, and they’ll try their best to undertake it. As such some of these inescapable prisons lost their titles, but who were those brave people who attempted the wondrous feats? Let’s find out!
1. Imrali Prison, Turkey During the 1940s, governments around the world began to crack down on smuggling and some nations began to impose stricter prison sentences. Billy Hayes, an American student, was picked up in Turkey. Two months before his scheduled release, his sentence was increased to life in prison, and he was moved to Imrali Prison. Despite a reduced sentence to 30 years, Hayes had no plans of serving the sentence. In his fourth attempt, just a few months after the reduced sentence, Hayes escaped the island prison by stealing a rowboat, eventually making it home to America after passing through many European countries.
2. Camp 14, North Korea North Korea is well known for having one of the most authoritarian governments in the world and their prison system reflects their ruling style. Shin Dong-hyuk was born in a prison camp and from the very beginning, he faced hardships that some of us will never experience. After being forced to witness the deaths of both his mother and brother, he decided that that was not the life he was meant to live. The then 23-year-old climbed through a high-voltage security fence and made his way to China. From there, he went to South Korea and then the United States where he now lives and works as a human rights activist.
3. Luynes Prison, France It’s one thing to call a prison inescapable and have the odd prisoner escape. It’s a completely different thing to have the same inmate escape from one prison twice, by the same method. Such is the story of Pascal Puyet, the man who escaped Letnes Prison by using a helicopter, twice. Puyet first escaped from the French maximum-security prison in 2001 with the help of some friends he’d made. He returned two years later with another helicopter to break them out. He was subsequently caught and was kept in solitary confinement, but he would not be there for long. Thanks to the noise from the Bastille Day celebrations, Puyet and four new friends from his new prison hijacked a helicopter. He was caught again and this time he was placed in an undisclosed French jail.
4. Stalag Luft III, Poland During the second World War, the Luftwaffe operated a prisoner of war camp in Sagan, Poland which was called Stalag Luft III. Used to house troops from the Allied forces, most of whom came from the United Kingdom, Stalag Luft III was called impenetrable but some people still managed to escape. British prisoners worked together in secrecy to dig three tunnels which they named Tom, Dick, and Harry. Tom was found and destroyed by the Germans. Dick was used to hide supplies and Harry was used as the route for escape. Approximately 76 men made it out and their stories were told in the film, The Great Escape.
5. Alcatraz, San Francisco, USA For a long time, Alcatraz was one known for being one of the most inescapable prisons in the world, but there were several inmates who successfully broke out. In 1962, brothers John and Clarence Anglin teamed up with Frank Morris to get off the island. They made models of themselves using hair and toilet paper and placed it in their bunks. They were able to dig through an opening in the back of their cell that brought them to a utility closet, allowing them to escape. Officially, the men died in San Francisco’s icy waters but there are many who believed that they made it out okay.
1. Imrali Prison, Turkey During the 1940s, governments around the world began to crack down on smuggling and some nations began to impose stricter prison sentences. Billy Hayes, an American student, was picked up in Turkey. Two months before his scheduled release, his sentence was increased to life in prison, and he was moved to Imrali Prison. Despite a reduced sentence to 30 years, Hayes had no plans of serving the sentence. In his fourth attempt, just a few months after the reduced sentence, Hayes escaped the island prison by stealing a rowboat, eventually making it home to America after passing through many European countries.
2. Camp 14, North Korea North Korea is well known for having one of the most authoritarian governments in the world and their prison system reflects their ruling style. Shin Dong-hyuk was born in a prison camp and from the very beginning, he faced hardships that some of us will never experience. After being forced to witness the deaths of both his mother and brother, he decided that that was not the life he was meant to live. The then 23-year-old climbed through a high-voltage security fence and made his way to China. From there, he went to South Korea and then the United States where he now lives and works as a human rights activist.
3. Luynes Prison, France It’s one thing to call a prison inescapable and have the odd prisoner escape. It’s a completely different thing to have the same inmate escape from one prison twice, by the same method. Such is the story of Pascal Puyet, the man who escaped Letnes Prison by using a helicopter, twice. Puyet first escaped from the French maximum-security prison in 2001 with the help of some friends he’d made. He returned two years later with another helicopter to break them out. He was subsequently caught and was kept in solitary confinement, but he would not be there for long. Thanks to the noise from the Bastille Day celebrations, Puyet and four new friends from his new prison hijacked a helicopter. He was caught again and this time he was placed in an undisclosed French jail.
4. Stalag Luft III, Poland During the second World War, the Luftwaffe operated a prisoner of war camp in Sagan, Poland which was called Stalag Luft III. Used to house troops from the Allied forces, most of whom came from the United Kingdom, Stalag Luft III was called impenetrable but some people still managed to escape. British prisoners worked together in secrecy to dig three tunnels which they named Tom, Dick, and Harry. Tom was found and destroyed by the Germans. Dick was used to hide supplies and Harry was used as the route for escape. Approximately 76 men made it out and their stories were told in the film, The Great Escape.
5. Alcatraz, San Francisco, USA For a long time, Alcatraz was one known for being one of the most inescapable prisons in the world, but there were several inmates who successfully broke out. In 1962, brothers John and Clarence Anglin teamed up with Frank Morris to get off the island. They made models of themselves using hair and toilet paper and placed it in their bunks. They were able to dig through an opening in the back of their cell that brought them to a utility closet, allowing them to escape. Officially, the men died in San Francisco’s icy waters but there are many who believed that they made it out okay.
