'Escape at Dannemora' Tells a Wild Story About Manipulation and a Prison Break — Is It True?

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) from the Netflix account, Escape at Dannemore is about a "correctional facility in northern New York State, [where] a seamstress becomes enthralled with two inmates and helps them in their attempt to break out."

It stars Benicio Del Toro, Paul Dano, and Patricia Arquette and is available to stream on Oct. 22, 2024. Netflix is widely regarded as the best streaming service when it comes to true crime. This addition could be another feather in their cap.

Is Escape at Dannemore a true story? Let's check in with its director, Ben Stiller, who shared the original post from Netflix.

"This is a limited series we made," said the Reality Bites star in a post to X. As succinctly as possible, Ben then wrote: "true story. That's right, the series is based on a real-life prison break that happened at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y."

Here's what we know.

According to the Intelligencer, Richard Matt and David Sweat had spent most of their lives in prison. Sweat was sentenced to life for the 2002 killing of a police officer while Matt got 25 years to life in 2008 after killing his former employer and then cutting up his body using a hacksaw.

These two career criminals first crossed paths at Clinton Correctional Facility in 2010, while both were on the "honor block." This was the most relaxed section of the prison.

After Matt was kicked out in 2011, Sweat kept the friendship going by sneaking his pal various gifts in the form of rolling tobacco. They reunited in August 2013 and were able to snag cells next to each other until September 2014, and again in January 2015. It was during this time that Matt and Sweat planned their escape.

What really drew the two inmates together was their mutual love of art. Matt was an incredible painter who taught Sweat everything he knew. They in turn used their artwork as currency, sending it to people with the intent of calling in a favor at some point. This included guards like Gene Palmer, who would often allow the men to bypass the metal detectors while moving through the prison. This, along with a romance with another guard, helped facilitate the escape.

Both Sweat and Matt engaged in a physical relationship with a prison guard named Joyce Mitchell. She met them both while in charge of the tailor shop. She later told investigators that their attention "made her feel good."

They were rewarded with sex and the occasional baked good. When the prison administration received an anonymous letter about Sweat, he was relocated. Mitchell then turned all of her attention to Matt.

Soon Matt was asking her for contraband, such as reading glasses equipped with a light. He told Mitchell the glasses would help him and Sweat paint at night but in reality, they would need them for the tunnels.

In February 2015, Matt convinced Mitchell to sneak in six hacksaw blades which were later used to access the prison tunnels from Matt and Sweat's cells. Both cut through the rear walls of their respective cells in about three weeks' time and were then able to explore the tunnels.

On June 5, 2015, Matt and Sweat made their daring escape after cutting through a steam pipe in one of the tunnels. Along their escape route, the two prisoners left funny notes and drawings.

"You left me no choice but to grow old & die in here. I had to do something," wrote Matt in a note left in his cell. They ended up at a manhole outside of the prison, carrying a guitar case along with clothes, 20 packs of peanuts, 40 granola bars, and 12 sticks of pepperoni.

They were on the run for three weeks until shots were reported fired near Route 30. The driver of an RV told police that his camper had a bullet hole in it. When law enforcement showed up, a shootout occurred.

Matt was killed while Sweat escaped. Two days later, a sergeant with the State Police spotted a man walking towards the Canadian border. It was Sweat, who attempted to flee but was shot in the torso.

He lived and was ordered to pay $80,000 and got a few more years tacked onto his life sentence.