A man who broke into jail

99 points47 comments2 days ago
runnr_az

Fascinating story... This was covered on the GoneSouth podcast as well:

Part 1: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/274-gone-south-88714714/episo... Part 2: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/274-gone-south-88714714/episo...

I assume this is following the podcast -> (new yorker / atlantic) article -> netflix doc pipeline. In a good way.

pavel_lishin

> 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.

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assimpleaspossi

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!!"

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hollywood_court

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.

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jbd123

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

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

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dogtimeimmortal

interesting article, though i probably would have skipped if not for a hand injury i'm dealing with.

mentioned in the article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_People_Play_(book)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Berne

all i can think is the guy is nuts. why sabotage the new jail where you have a personal relationship with with the new sheriff and are supposedly making progress fixing all the problems with the old system? i don't know what i was expecting...

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amenghra

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."

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xvxvx

Leaving keys etc. I could understand as a political statement, but loaded guns? Madman!

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mcswell

Otis Campbell was known for locking himself into the Mayberry jail.

twohaibei

I recommend reading on "Witold Pilecki" - old story, but pretty fascinating.

jareklupinski

> reëlection

> reënacted

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

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