. . . Joe . . .
(source: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-03-09/features/1997068134_1_cell-holmes-dig)
The recent escape of two convicted killers from Clinton Correctional Facility brought to mind a story I had read years ago about an equally resourceful but less threatening inmate who earned the distinction of the 'only resident of the Maryland Penitentiary to ever dig his way to freedom."Tunnel Joe" Holmes, who on July 8, 1949 was in the eighth of a 20-year sentence for burglary, decided to dig for his freedom. His major motivation was as he feared that his long imprisonment would cause him to "blow up -- as he'd seen others do in nearby cells," said The Sun. After 20 months of steady labor chipping at the slate cell floor under his cot, he completed a narrow, muddy tube 70 feet long that carried him 26 feet down and under the prison's walls to a grassy plot to nearby East Eager and Forrest streets, from which he made his escape. It took Joe 40 days to complete the project and taste freedom. The tunnel, dug with only a nail attached to a stick and bare hands, was only wide enough for him to wiggle through. As he dug, Jo packed the dirt in hand-sewn bags to bring to the surface and flush away in his toilet. He even designed a 9 foot deep by 6 wide drain to dispose of 140 gallons of water nightly. In the early hours of Feb. 18, 1951, Joe packed his clothes and $152 in numbers winnings took forty five minutes to make his way through the tunnel. Upon emerging, he changed into dry pants and shirt and cleared the 7-foot picket fence near the warden's house and dropped into Eager Street. He wisely high-tailed it through Wilmington, Del., Philadelphia, Pa., and New Haven, Conn., returning to Baltimore. Joe was eventually apprehended by police during a Howard Street shootout in a bowling alley after he pulled a $5 holdup the cook in wealthy home on Mount Vernon Place. Joe passed away in 1973. Not sure whether he was 'out' or 'in' at the time.
The case of Matt and Sweat in New York may be every bit as dazzling, but in the present climate of fantastic feats, unconscionable acts and extremely bad people, Joe's story somehow holds a bit of atmospheric romance and harmlessness. . . at least for me.
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