Killer Who Escaped New York Prison to Be Sentenced

Before the sentence was imposed, Sweat told Clinton Supreme Court Justice Patrick McGill he was sorry to have caused fear among residents in the community.

He pleaded guilty three months ago to felony charges of first-degree escape and promotion of prison contraband.

“I’d like to apologize to the community, to the people who felt the fear…” “I deeply apologize your honor”.

Three days later, Sweat was spotted on a country road in the Town of Constable, just a short distance from the Canadian border, by State Police Sgt. Jay Cook.

Sweat and another inmate at Clinton Correctional Facility, Richard Matt, escaped the maximum security prison in Dannemora in June.

His sentence, however, won’t have much practical impact: Sweat is already serving life in prison without parole for the brutal 2002 murder of Kevin Tarsia, a Broome County sheriff’s deputy.

A judge ordered the 35-year-old to pay $79,841 in restitution and serve 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison for the escape. The pair escaped using smuggled tools to cut through their prison cell and through the prison’s system of pipes. The escape prompted hundreds of law enforcement officers to spend weeks searching the heavily wooded region near the prison. Matt was shot and killed two days before Sweat was caught.

Sweat is now serving a six-year stint in solitary confinement, his lawyer said.

There was no escape Wednesday for inmate David Sweat.

District Attorney Andrew Wylie said Sweat tried to withdraw his guilty plea, telling McGill in his chambers that the escape was prompted by duress and threats against him in the prison, which would be a possible trial defense.