Dannemora

Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State

By: Charles A. Gardner

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In June 2015 two vicious convicted murderers broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, in New York's "North Country," launching the most extensive manhunt in state history. Aided by prison employee Joyce Mitchell, double murderer Richard Matt and cop-killer David Sweat slipped out of their cells, followed a network of tunnels and pipes under the 30-foot prison wall, and climbed out of a manhole to freedom.

For three weeks, the residents of local communities were virtual prisoners in their own homes as law enforcement from across the nation swept the rural wilderness near the Canadian border. The manhunt made front-page headlines - as did the prison sex scandal involving both inmates and Joyce Mitchell - and culminated in a dramatic and bloody standoff.

Now Charles A. Gardner - a lifelong resident of the community and a former prison guard who began his training at Clinton and ultimately oversaw the training of staff in 12 prisons, including Clinton - tells the whole story from an insider's point of view.

©2019 Charles A. Gardner (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

New and Current employees read

New and current employees who work in correctional settings should read as a insight or reminder what can happen if you let your guard down. I had no difficulty listening to this story, in fact, couldn't stop until it was finished. Men and Women employees alike have been told numerous times, love is not found in prison, however, human emotions tend to get in the way. If your unhappy find love elsewhere or suffer the consequences. Great Book!

A must read!

A story full of great facts, a must read for all
true North Country residents.

Thank you

I lived through this event as a resident of the North Country. I enjoyed the story immensely.

Cudo Mr. Gardner

Your book is the most comprehensive account of the escape, Clinton Correctional and the entire NYS prison system at that time. I liked the way you explained about the state jails and Albany’s role. Every involved person became “clearer”with your description of them. As a North Country resident and wife of correctional sergeant, this event in my life was perhaps the most terrifying time in my life.

Great Narrator & Compelling Story

This is not your average true crime story of homicides and bloody crime scenes but another side of true crime that I found equally compelling. Highly recommend

A wonderful escape

Being somewhat of a true crime aficionado, I thoroughly enjoy a good caper. I’m often disappointed by books from this genre. Sometimes they are slow to develop, other times they can be just downright uninteresting. This book fits neither of those descriptors.
It’s a tightly woven narrative that had me hooked starting on page one. The characters are neatly fleshed out, and the narrator did an excellent job reading the story.
I’m knowledgeable about prison life and I’m here to tell you, the author knows the intricate details about what it’s like behind the walls.
I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre of true crime.

The truth is refreshing!!

Living in the city of Malone, and married to a retired C.O. , we heard all the rumors and speculations during the escape. We also had our property searched by a group of state troopers 3 days in a row, and they were here searching when Matt was shot, not far from our house. Reading this book, I learned so much about what really happened and who was to blame. Thank you, Charlie, for putting the truth out there.

So good, if you like this genre!

I listened to this while traveling on vacation. I highly recommend it as an audible book.

Interesting story; author editorializes too much

This is a really interesting story. The author does seem to pull most of his facts from interviews and other primary sources. The problem I had, and why I rated it three stars, is that the author has a pretty obvious axe to grind. He crawls all over Andrew Cuomo and complains about the fact that Cuomo referred to the escaped convicts as “Mr [last name].” He brings this up incessantly. Now, I am no Cuomo apologist; he is highly problematic for a number of reasons. But the author complains way too much about, basically, the fact that a politician was behaving like a politician. There really wasn’t anything that out of the ordinary in Cuomo’s response. I’m not saying he did a good job, but the author clearly hates him. He could’ve gotten the same message across by just quoting Cuomo directly and letting his words (or lack thereof) speak for themselves. Instead I was left feeling as if the author is not at all impartial, which makes me wonder what he left out that did not fit his narrative. He also makes comments about how the citizens of the north country were helpful to the police and “no one demanded to see a search warrant” when the cops were asking to inspect property. The clear implication throughout was that anyone asking police to show a search warrant or not providing them with unmitigated support is somehow bad or, I dunno, pro-escaped murderers? The book definitely did not contain the impartiality that I expect in good nonfiction.

All that said - these grievances only start to become a problem with about ~3 hours left in the book, and the story is otherwise pretty interesting.

Fine but clearly not a fan of Cuomo

I wish he would have stuck to the telling of the story and kept the police-worship and dehumanizing of others to a minimum.