Dannemora, Charles A. Gardner
Dannemora, Charles A. Gardner
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Dannemora
Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State

Author: Charles A. Gardner

Narrator: Jonathan Yen

Unabridged: 9 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/26/2019


Synopsis

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 thirty-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 twelve prisons, including Clinton—tells the whole story from an insider's point of view.

About Charles A. Gardner

Charles A. Gardner is currently a municipal court judge and retired regional training lieutenant in Malone, New York, the far-upstate town where he was born and raised. His twenty-five-year career in the New York State Department of Corrections included working as a correction officer, sergeant, and lieutenant. He had experience working in medium and maximum-security facilities including stints at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora and the maximum-security prisons of Sing-Sing, Bedford Hills, Great Meadow, and Upstate. Gardner served on the Department of Corrections' emergency response team (CERT), which played a critical role in the search for the 2015 prison escapees. He lives with his wife Penny and their Samoyeds, Nick and Jewel, in the North Country.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Valerity (Val) on January 15, 2019

Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State This is my second book on this breakout, so I’m fairly familiar with the subject. The author retired from 25 years in corrections and was born and raised in that area. He is currently a municipal cou......more

Goodreads review by Kris (My Novelesque Life) on November 15, 2019

RATING: 4 STARS (Review Not on Blog) I first heard about the escape in Dannemora on a true crime show and was interested in knowing more about the case. This was a well-written and researched book. It outlines the timeline and also the history of the town and prison. It was a quick read for me as the......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on January 17, 2019

Joyce Mitchell was a messed up, lonely woman living in the wildest part of upper New York State when she, like many residents in that area, went to work for the prison system…it seems prisons are a big industry in that part of the state. She met and married another employee and they worked at the Cl......more

Goodreads review by MM Suarez on October 02, 2022

Disappointing, I did not like the writing style or the authors penchant for injecting his opinions and clearly biased comments into what is otherwise an interesting story. In Mr. Gardner's world "Albany" is primarily responsible for the escape while Clinton Correctional Facility staff and administrat......more

Goodreads review by Katie on April 10, 2019

This might be a controversial opinion, but this book reminded me of In Cold Blood. It begins with descriptive language, setting the scene of the small town near where the prison break occurred. The background information on the town, the prison, and the prisoners was fascinating. The organization, w......more