Inmate Makes Daring 'Cape Fear'-Style Prison Escape

Ashlee O'Connell
March 31, 2009
4:17 p.m.

Police are searching for Frenchman Julien Chautard, 39, a convicted arsonist, who escaped from London’s Pentonville prison shortly after he was counted off the security van. Chautard copied Robert De Niro’s psychopath character Max Cady in the thriller “Cape Fear” by clinging to the underside of the van and staying there as it left the jail. The escape was undetected until prison officers searched the prison seven hours later at 2 a.m. “The van went into the prison’s secure area, then they unloaded the prisoners," a source told The Sun. “Normally as prisoners come off the vehicle and into the building there is somebody who searches and escorts them — but there wasn’t this time. When the van was checked afterwards they found foot prints and finger hold marks on the underside,” (according to foxnews.com). When CCTV footage was checked hours later, a mysterious shadow under the van appeared that had not been there before. Chautard was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court to seven years imprisonment for two counts of arson.

This crime is something that should have and could have completely been avoided. For one, there were definitely not enough precautions taken in order to prevent something like this from happening. The guards were oblivious to everything going on. Secondly, it is ridiculous that an actual person could take a scene from a movie and put it into real life action. Movies have such a big influence on every single watcher these days. The gory scenes of scary movies make everyone used to hearing about real life war and murders. The crazy scenes shot on Jackass make kids want to go out and break bones doing something that looks “cool.” Movies are full of crime and this is a prime example of that crime leading to a live investigation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,511784,00.html