ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ: True Stories of Jail Breaks and Great Escapes Despite their place in popular culture, jail breaks are an incredibly daring prospect for any criminal to undertake. In most countries, escaping from jail is a very serious offence and will certainly result in a harsher punishment once the subject has been re-captured. Depending on the severity of the crime for which the offender was originally imprisoned, an attempted jail break can result in a significantly longer sentence. The cases covered in this volume are a combination of those prisoners who went to extreme lengths in order to free themselves from the confines of jail, those who broke free as a declaration of their innocence, and those who simply pounded at the first opportunity to escape. The fascination of each case cannot be over-stated, as well as the unimaginable bravery and audacity each one required.