“The Shawshank Redemption”–Again

U.S. marshals arrested this week, Frank Freshwaters, who escaped from prison in 1959. He was convicted in 1957 of manslaughter, when he killed a pedestrian while speeding. The court sentenced the twenty year old to twenty years, but suspended the sentence. He pushed his luck too far, when he was caught two years later driving while suspended. Mr. Freshwaters was transferred to an “Honor camp” and disappeared on September 30th, 1959 at the age of twenty two.

During the next five decades, he was arrested for allegedly threatening his ex-wife in West Virginia, but disappeared after the Governor of West Virginia denied Ohio’s request for extradition. He was living under the name of William Harold Cox.

He fled to Florida and continued to use the name of William Cox. Unfortunately for him, a deputy marshal decided to reopen his case this year. He was found quite easily by the deputy marshal from a search of public records.Undercover agents convinced Mr. Cox to sign some forms and the Form’s finger prints matched Mr. Freshwater’s prison prints from five decades ago.

The wheel bound seventy nine years old Mr. Freshwater waived extradition and will return to Ohio to serve the remaining 18 years of his sentence. If Mr. Freshwaters remains incarcerated for the balance of his sentence, he will be ninety seven upon his release.

Do you think he should remain incarcerated? Prisons are facing “The Crisis of Aging Inmates.”Elderly inmates do not receive decent medical care and are victimized by violent inmates. A fiscal analysis by the ACLU  found that states would save approximately $66,000 a year for each elderly inmate released from prison.

Ironically, his initial prison, the Ohio State Reformatory, was later a set for the famous prison escape movie, ” The Shawshank Redemption.”

By: Bradley Schwartz
Founder of prisonpath.com