Frank Morris broke out of Alcatraz prison in 1962. He probably drowned in the San Francisco bay before making it to shore. The movie “Escape from Alcatraz” is based on the story. Unlike other escape films like “Shawshank Redemption” or “The Next Three Days”, no attempt is ever made to show that Morris was innocent of his crimes. Every indication says that Morris belonged in prison. Yet, there’s never a moment in that movie where you are not rooting for him in his escape.
In most US states, escaping from prison is treated as a criminal offense. There’s a trial, and if convicted people can receive additional years to their sentence, even if the escape was non-violent. Repeated escape attempts can eventually turn a short term into a life sentence, such as the case of Steven Jay Russell.
I get it, "do the crime, do the time." But when I drive by a prison, I imagine ways of getting over the fence. It seems wrong to punish people for doing the same thing I would do in similar circumstances. It seems wrong for a drug dealer to end up with a life sentence. Typically, we are forgiving of people who flaunt the law when they under extreme stress. We would never think to punish a woman for hoping a subway turnstile if she were running from a rapist. But sometimes, that's exactly what these prisoners are running from as well.
Would it be so crazy to live in a country where escaping from prison were legal? Mexico does it that way...
Would it be so crazy to live in a country where escaping from prison were legal? Mexico does it that way...
