Prison - the ultimate lockup.
By the time a criminal reaches their new home behind bars, the courtroom hearings have concluded
and they're as good as trapped for the remainder of their sentence.
Right?
Well, in most cases - yes.
However, these seven cases prove that with enough tenacity, planning and just sheer will
and courage - a swift exit is sometimes still possible.
From wild, bold moves to premeditated deliberation - these seven criminals escaped prison in
a manner so wild and creative, it makes you wonder if they're brilliantly dumb or just
plain brilliant.
Let's get started.
Starting things off at number seven, let's take a look at "The Amazing Shrinking Man".
Choi Gap-Bok, a South Korean man in his early fifties, was arrested by police officials
on suspicion of burglary and robbery charges.
Being in and out of the prison system his entire life, Gap-Bok was no stranger to incarceration
- however, since his mid-twenties he had become a devout yoga practitioner.
After being held up in his cell, Gap-Bok asked guards for skin ointment, implying he'd like
some privacy - which he was granted.
However, instead of using the lotion for - err, other things - he covered himself in the slippery
stuff and jammed his 5 foot 4 self through the narrow food slot located on the outside
of his door.
Although he was caught six days later (and also put into a holding cell with a much smaller
slot), you can't help but commend this contortionist criminal for some solid effort.
Getting a bit more creative, these three co-conspirators make their way to our number six slot.
Keith Rose, Andrew Rodger and Matthew Williams (three fellow inmates of Parkhurst Prison,
located in the U.K.) broke free by fashioning their own tools, including a 25 foot ladder,
a working gun and even a key that was capable of unlocking every door in the prison facility
(rumored to be carved entirely by memory, officials think the intricate grooves were
mentally memorized by the inmates by studying the guards' key rings and manufactured in
the prison's sheet metal shop).
By simply walking out of the gym door, cutting a hole through the inner and fence and scaling
the outer fence with their handcrafted ladder, the trio was able to bafflingly slip past
security completely unnoticed.
After four days of hiding in a shed on an airfield (as part of a plan to then steal
an airplane to make the final getaway), the three were finally apprehended and brought
back, but not without some impressive moves.
Getting away via chopper, this aviation-loving Frenchman comes in at number five.
Pascal Payet, a French criminal incarcerated for murder that followed a botched security
van robbery attempt, devised an elaborate plan after noticing the exercise yards sitting
atop the prison roof (a common occurrence for European lockups).
In 2001, Payet instructed some friends who had stolen a hijacked helicopter to pick him
up on the roof, making a clean getaway - even returning two years later to the same prison
with another stolen helicopter to pick up three more friends on the inside.
After being arrested again in 2007, he somehow managed to escape a second prison in France
by the same way - this time forcing the pilot to fly them to the Mediterranean before letting
him go and disappearing.
Unlike some other criminals on this list, this crafty criminal actually made a complete
escape.
This physically agile inmate takes our number four spot on the list.
Derrick Estell, a 34 year old Florida man incarcerated at the Garland County Detention
Center, devised a devious plan with his girlfriend, her mother and others to break out and flee
the prison complex.
Following a court appearance and transfer to a new facility, 58 year old William Harding
distracted deputies on duty,while Estell lunged toward the booking room area window - running
to a waiting getaway car in the lot and clearing the scene on July 28, 2013.
Amassing a staggering list of charges (including aggravated robbery, burglary, theft, breaking
and entering, fleeing and almost 20 others), he and all of the other conspirators were
caught less than a month later.
Keeping with the theme - but getting a little slicker - this nonchalant escape comes in
at number three.
31 year old Torie T. Smith, a freshly booked New Orleans Parish jail inmate, took a similar
approach to escape - albeit a bit more relaxed.
While being processed into the system on aggravated battery charges involving a domestic dispute
with her boyfriend, she up and just left the jail's Intake And Processing Center by telling
officers she was going to use the washroom - instead waltzing through two steel doors
left unsecured and unlocked by a passing officer who had failed to lock them behind him just
moments before.
Noticing he had been careless, she took the opportunity and casually strolled out - running
through the parking lot and scaling the outer fence.
Although she was captured, her calm yet quick demeanor lands this escapee high on our list
for brevity alone.
This repeat escapee comes in at number two.
Rocky Marquez, two-timing escape artist and charged criminal with drug trafficking ties,
used a fairly clever identity technique to evade authorities.
The 34 year old escaped the first time in Maricopa County, Arizona by shaving his head,
changing clothes and switching ID cards with another inmate scheduled for release.
His nationwide manhunt led to a capture in Detroit - where he once again used the identical
tactic to escape from the Wayne County facility he was then transferred to.
Although this clever ruse got him home-free twice before, he now faces a deep mound of
legal charges and will likely be behind bars for a much longer time than he started off
with.
And finally, coming in at number one - the ever elusive El Chapo.
The notorious Mexican drug lord and cartel leader Joaquin Guzman, commonly known as El
Chapo, may be one of the craziest escapees of all time.
Described by the US Government as the most dangerous drug trafficker of all time, he
was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security prison in 1993 - however, in 2001, he bribed
prison guards and escaped via a laundry cart.
He was finally tracked down in 2014 and transferred to a maximum security prison in Mexico.
However, on July 11 2015, Guzman escaped once again - this time by using a mile-long tunnel
dug underground at the base of his shower stall - equipped with everything from artificial
light, air vents and even a motorcycle, believed to be used to transport materials back and
forth and eventually Guzman himself.
Due to the loud sound of the tunnel's construction, it's believed that corruption was once again
at play - regardless, El Chapo’s persistence and amazing escapes land him our top spot.
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