During a routine painting detail, inmate Allen West noticed that one of the roof ventilators had not been cemented shut. This marked the beginning of his collaboration with Morris and the Anglins on one of the greatest prison escapes ever recorded.

At around this time plumbers were working in the utility corridor, and after they had completed their work, West was ordered to clean out the refuse from inside the narrow space. While cleaning smaller particles from the floor on his hands and knees, he noticed something wrapped in soiled paper and hidden beneath a cement support. When he opened the package, he found that it contained several old rusty saw blades and some makeshift metal files. He guessed that they had been hidden for ten to twenty years, based on their severely rusted condition.

West said that sometime after making this discovery he reported his finding to John Anglin, who was apparently already aware of the possibility of escaping through one of the ventilation openings in the roof. The two engaged in a lengthy conversation about the odds of success, and various methods of breaking out of the prison and swimming to the mainland. After considering several other options, one of which involved cutting the cell bars, they determined that the best escape route would be through the six-by-nine-inch iron ventilation grills at the rear of their cells. West explained to Anglin that he had already studied civil engineering references that he had obtained through the prison library, which contained a formula to break down the composite structure of cement by heating it to a temperature of 500 to 900 degrees. He also confided to Anglin that at one point he had obtained element wires similar to those of a bread toaster, and had plugged the wires into the electrical outlet in his cell, but could not generate enough heat to affect the cement.

West alleges that he brought Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris into the scheme in December of 1961. John Anglin had apparently gotten hold of a sharpened spoon, and had started digging around the ventilator grill inside his cell. He had already made significant progress in penetrating the cement. After several weeks’ time, the three inmates were all able to procure more spoons, and they initiated a concerted digging schedule that began after the 5:30 p.m. count and continued until 9:30 p.m.

A magazine subscription request by Frank Morris. The list included several technical magazines, including Popular Mechanics, from which Morris would extract useful information on crafting materials to aid in his escape plot.

This March 1962 issue of Popular Mechanics was found in Morris’ cell, and it was believed to have helped provide him with examples and ideas for fabricating the life vests that were used in the escape.

Because the Anglins shared adjacent cells and Morris and West were also neighbors, they alternated daily digging schedules while the cellmates opposite stayed on lookout. After nearly a full month of work the inmates had made considerable headway, digging over fifty small holes around the perimeter of the vent. The excess debris was flushed down the toilet or brushed back into the corridor. Once each hole was completed, they used a mixture of soap and toilet paper to fill it in, and touch-up paint to conceal the tiny cavities. They also fabricated fake grills out of cardboard, painstakingly matching the paint finish. The fake grills were amazingly convincing and difficult to detect.

A crudely fashioned wrench made the inmates used to remove the bolt of the ventilator grill.

Photographs showing drill holes around the cell vent grill. These photos show cells B-346 and B-134, the homes of Robert Williams and June Stephens. Both cells were found to have drill holes around the ventilation grills.

Morris and John Anglin finished digging their holes first, and John assisted Clarence by digging from the back wall of his cell. West later told officials that he had decided to leave his grill intact, to avoid arousing the suspicion of anyone doing maintenance work in the corridor. In May of 1962, Clarence Anglin was the first to climb the maze of plumbing and make it to the cellblock ceiling. Using a screwdriver, he attempted to loosen the 18½-inch-diameter metal coupling that secured the ventilator, without success. West then learned that the prison’s vacuum cleaner was broken. He was permitted to attempt a repair, and while inspecting the machine, he found that it utilized two motors. He carefully removed one of them and managed to get the other working, to avoid raising suspicion. Morris was able to modify the smuggled motor into a motorized drill. They attempted to use it in drilling out the roof ventilator, but achieved only limited success. The motor proved too noisy and not very effective.

Robert Williams

June H. Stephens

After some lobbying, Morris was able to secure a work detail that required him to paint the uppermost areas of the cellblock. He fashioned a clamp out of clasps he had taken from his bed and bolted together, and this tool provided ample leverage to loosen the sticking bolts. He left the ventilator in place to avoid detection. Meanwhile with John’s help, Clarence had created their first dummy head. It was crudely fashioned from soap packed over a bundle of white cotton rags, painted with flesh tones from an artist’s paint kit, and topped with human hair acquired from the barbershop. In his official statement West remarks that Clarence, in jest, had named the dummy head “Oink.”

The inmates used clever decoys to fool the guards during the late night counts. The amazingly detailed and lifelike dummy heads that were tucked under the blankets were fashioned primarily from scrap bits and pieces. The materials used included soap chips, concrete, wire, plaster, glue, paint, and hair that had been smuggled from the prison barbershop.

Thomas Kent (pictured) along with Darwin Coon were two of several inmates who helped to smuggle materials that were used in the escape.

Concealed contraband materials that were used in the escape, and were later found in one of the inmates’ cells.

Using glue stolen from the glove shop, the inmates then started to cut and bond the raincoats into a makeshift raft and life preservers. Each evening following the completion of their self-imposed work details, they would hide the materials on top of the cellblock to minimize any chance of being caught with the contraband goods. The inmates also acquired an elaborate array of forged tools. West was able to lift an electric hair clipper while working on a paint detail in the barbershop. He used the clipper, along with drill bits stolen from the Industries Building by another inmate, to fashion a makeshift motorized drill. The motor later proved too small, and the drill would require something more effective.