Maximum
Texas prison security needs revision
In “The Shawshank Redemption,” Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, takes nearly 20 years to slowly plan his escape route and dig into the sewage system under the prison. In such a maximum-security prison, escape is perceived as a virtual impossibility and one would think only through the most complex movie plots can an event like this actually materialize.

“Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of s--t-smelling foulness I can’t even imagine. Or maybe I just don’t want to. Five hundred yards. That’s the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile,” Morgan Freeman’s character, “Red,” narrated in the film.

However, this type of epic movie magic doesn’t seem to apply in Texas.

Convicted killer John William Roland III escaped from a maximum-security prison Sunday and is still at large as of Monday evening.

The really disturbing part is the relative ease with which he made this “daring” escape and how routine these escapes have become in this state in the past couple of years.

All Roland had to do was overpower a single guard, take his uniform and drive out of the front gate in the guard’s stolen truck without even being questioned. Heck, it takes more effort to escape from most juvenile halls.

One prison official said an escapee needs two things: a car and a change of clothes.

Way to go Texas prison system, you struck out with both at bats.

Of course, this comes following a long stretch of prison escapes, beginning with the infamous “Texas Seven.” Then, just earlier this month four escaped from Montague County, two from Hood County and so on. There were 56 total escapes just last year in the state and 15 came from maximum-security facilities. The state already seems well on its way to beat last year’s numbers.

Obviously, the Texas use of the word “maximum” is a vast exaggeration. Maybe from now on “maximum” should actually represent the greatest possible amount of security.

credits

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002