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| N.J. appellate court court nixes appeal of inmate in '07 jail escape |
| By nj.com - MaryAnn Spoto |
| Published: 12/30/2011 |
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Newark NJ -- A prison inmate nearing the end of a five-year sentence for a daring breakout from the Union County jail — similar to the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" — must serve more time for helping a prisoner plan an escape, a state appellate panel ruled today. The decision by the two-judge panel upholds disciplinary action imposed by state corrections officials against the inmate, Otis Blunt, who was found guilty last year of attempting or planning an escape — three years after his infamous breakout from the jail in Elizabeth by methodically chipping through a cinder block wall. "We have reviewed all of Blunt’s appellate arguments and are satisfied that they are unpersuasive," the two appellate judges, Jonathan Harris and Ellen Koblitz, wrote in their seven-page opinion. Blunt, 37, of Toms River, would have been a free man had it not been for the escape attempts. In 2007, he was being held at the Union County jail on an attempted robbery charge for which he was later acquitted. He escaped from the facility, was later captured and sentenced to five years in prison. Then last year — when he was nearing the end that sentence — the new offense added nearly a year to his term. He is now eligible for release May 11, according to state corrections officials. Featured on Investigation Discovery channel’s television series "I Escaped: Real Prison Breaks," Blunt’s escape with a fellow inmate, Jose Espinosa, on Dec. 14, 2007, led to the suicide of a corrections officer who was mentioned in a taunting note left by the two. The escape also spurred sweeping changes in security and personnel at the jail. Read More. |
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