Opinion: How Would You Spend 24 Hours of Freedom in Billings?
Billings was captivated by a jailbreak over the weekend.
Inmates rarely escape. Out of the two million people in prison or jail in the United States right now, an extremely small percentage escape and most are quickly recaptured. Statista.com data says around 2,000 escape annually. Casino.org breaks down your odds of escaping a correctional facility in each state. In Montana, it's +7900. So when a prisoner does escape, everybody talks about it.
They were free, for like a day.
On Sunday evening (9/11), the two convicts somehow managed to squeeze through a "dislodged window" at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility. Billings Police Department officers and Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies scoured the Billings area for the two escapees and they were caught Monday afternoon near the Metra less than 24 hours after they escaped. We have exclusive photos of their capture HERE.
How do think the Billings escapees spent their freedom?
While authorities were searching for the face-tatted escapees, I was wondering how they were spending their time. Did they steal a car and leave the state? Were they planning a violent crime spree to help fund their freedom? Were they hiding out in an abandoned shed or a makeshift camp down by the river? The imagination runs wild. Perhaps I watch too many movies.
Here's what I would do with 24 hours of freedom.
I don't know if the two escapees are from Billings or not. If they don't have friends or family in the area, their options post-escape were surely quite limited. If the duo have connections here, their options aren't really much better. Despite Billings' growth, it's still a relatively small city. They couldn't hide for long. People love to talk and cameras are everywhere. Without a lot of money, it's virtually impossible to escape forever, and looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life has got to be miserably stressful.
If I was an inmate and had a chance to escape, I would go straight home and relish every minute with my spouse and kids. I'd grill the biggest ribeye I could find and enjoy some beers and cocktails. Surrender peacefully and finish my time.
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