New York prison break: Expert shows how hard it is to cut through steel pipe

The two escaped prisoners cut through a steel pipe to escape, raising some big questions
(Image credit: Darren McGee/NYS Governor's Office via Getty Images)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) says that investigators are "talking to several people who may have facilitated the escape" of two convicted murderers, David Sweat and Richard Matt, and that anyone found to have helped the men break out of the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility last weekend will face harsh justice. "You will be convicted, and then you'll be on the other side of the prison that you've been policing, and that is not a pleasant place to be," he said.

One of the main reasons police believe Sweat and Matt had help in their escape — multiple reports suggest a key suspect is Joyce Mitchell, one of Sweat's former instructors at the prison tailor shop — is that they apparently had power tools robust enough to cut their way out of a large steel steam pipe:

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.