The Man Who Broke into Jail

(newyorker.com)

34 points | by fortran77 1 day ago

9 comments

  • pavel_lishin 54 minutes ago
    > Friedmann’s infatuation with the game had continued after he moved to Nashville, becoming so intense that his psychologist stipulated in the terms of his parole that, along with being kept from weapons, he be prevented from playing fantasy games such as D. & D.

    Now that's ... that's weird.

    • Verdex 7 minutes ago
      "Its not a fantasy game, it's far future dystopian post apocalyptic implied hyper technical ethereal augmentation science fiction."

      "Very clever sir. But Im aware of what dark sun is. You'll have to come with me."

    • brendanfinan 16 minutes ago
      cruel and unusual
  • hollywood_court 52 minutes ago
    I thought this was going to be about someone that wanted to go to jail in order to receive meals and/or healthcare. But this article was far more interesting.
    • butterbomb 51 minutes ago
      > I thought this was going to be about someone that wanted to go to jail in order to receive meals and/or healthcare.

      Tbf, there’s probably an easier way to achieve that goal that involves much less serious charges than breaking into the jail lol.

      • hollywood_court 42 minutes ago
        I'm sure there are. One of my mother's husbands — she had four, all cops — loved to tell the story about arresting a man outside of a Zippy Mart on Virginia Loop Road in Montgomery, AL.

        The cashier called 911 and told them that a man had robbed the store. When he pulled up he found the man sitting on the curb just waiting for him. He had pulled a knife and stolen one pack of Big Red chewing gum from the store.

        All because it was getting cold outside and he needed a place to sleep. And he also had a toothache that had been bothering him for weeks. So he hoped to see a doctor while he was in county jail.

  • assimpleaspossi 41 minutes ago
    One of the Peter Sellers films (Pink Panther?), he goes to prison to visit an inmate only to have the inmate take his identity, fake beard, moustache and clothes, and walks out of jail. This happens several times. In the very last scene, he's walking out of the jail, a smirk on his face, and tries to pull off his fake beard and moustache but it doesn't come off. "Good heavens! The wrong man has escaped!!"
    • TYPE_FASTER 11 minutes ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_the_Fox

      I didn't know about about this film. Thank you!

      • dylan604 6 minutes ago
        Aw man, I'm kind of jealous of you. To be able to go back and see Peter Sellers movies for the first time again would be amazing. My dad absolutely loved him, and I can still hear him cackling at his movies growing up. As a kid, they weren't very funny, but as an adult I now get it.
  • jbd123 1 hour ago
    Jail is a unique place. If you break in, they’ll gladly let you stay or at least welcome you back at a later date. They may even insist on it. It is a deeper more interesting story, but that is the first thing that came to mind.
  • bstsb 26 minutes ago
    fascinating article. while i certainly sympathise somewhat with Alex - it is clear his actions are at least in part a consequence of mental conditions - i can't help but feel like being caught wasn't his plan as the article seems to suggest, and he wanted chaos upon the prison's opening, as some kind of strange payback or revenge
  • xvxvx 1 hour ago
    Leaving keys etc. I could understand as a political statement, but loaded guns? Madman!
    • pavel_lishin 53 minutes ago
      He gives a reason for doing so, although the article points out that his reason is suspect.
  • amenghra 1 hour ago
    TL;DR: "while a new jail in Nashville was still under construction, staff discovered missing keys and other anomalies. Surveillance footage eventually revealed that someone had repeatedly disguised themselves as a construction worker and entered the building many times. Inside, they hid weapons, tools, and escape items in walls and rooms around the facility."
    • NoSalt 1 hour ago
      Reminds me of the US Embassy in Russia that was built, by Russians, who embedded thousands of spying devices within the building itself. It took 27 years to build, then debug the building.
    • peddling-brink 1 hour ago
      And it was the person both least, and most suspected.
      • IAmBroom 39 minutes ago
        It's always someone you either do or do not suspect!
  • jareklupinski 15 minutes ago
    > reëlection

    > reënacted

    whats with the ree-s in the article...

    • enmyj 3 minutes ago
      that's the New Yorker signature style
  • fortran77 1 day ago