2. FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE ESCAPE FROM PRISON

Only consider a jail break if you are on death row or serving a life sentence with little chance of parole. Otherwise, you would be wiser to do your time. It is worth considering the consequence of a failed escape attempt: solitary confinement, an increase in your sentence, or drowning in the freezing waters off whatever godforsaken prison island you’ve managed to get yourself stuck on.


METHODS OF ESCAPE


If you are disorganized or lack the necessary temperament to plan and execute a getaway over several months, you are more suited to an opportunistic escape: a door left unlocked, a faulty electric perimeter fence, etc. However, you may have to wait a long time for such an opportunity to present itself, time better spent tunneling a hole behind the toilet.
Also, if you consider that the odds of one door being left unlocked are a hundred to one, if you have to get through five doors to reach freedom, the chances of all five of them being unlocked at the same time are one in ten billion. To put this into perspective, you’re two million times more likely to die in the first thirty days after total knee replacement surgery.
If, on the other hand, you are a meticulous planner, good with your hands, and a perfectionist problem solver with an eye for detail, you should opt for a planned escape. If nothing else, your single-minded focus on breaking out will give you a sense of hope and purpose.
Location, Location, Location
If you live in Mexico, Germany, or Belgium, start digging! They’re among a handful of countries that believe it is human nature to want to escape and don’t punish criminals for attempting to do so. Provided no additional laws were broken during the breakout.


GETTING HELP


Whether you dig a tunnel, hide in a laundry sack, or start a riot, most prison breaks require assistance from others either inside or outside the prison. Those on the outside—friends and family—you can trust. However, getting people to help you in prison requires considerable interpersonal skills, and you must be prepared to forgo some of your luxuries (e.g., toilet paper, instant noodles, recreational drugs) so that you can use them to bribe other inmates or even a prison guard to assist you and to keep quiet.