David Sweat, former escapee, moved to a new maximum-security prison
Jon CampbellALBANY – David Sweat, the convicted murderer who was the focus of a three-week manhunt after escaping from a North Country prison in 2015, has been moved east to a different maximum-security prison.
Sweat, 38, was transferred to the Auburn Correctional Facility in Cayuga County the week of Dec. 3, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
He had been serving his life sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility, near Buffalo, after doing stints at the Five Points and Attica prisons following his capture in June 2015.
Sweat pleaded guilty to the brutal July 4, 2002, murder of Broome County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia, who was shot and run over multiple times while checking on a suspicious vehicle in a Kirkwood park.
A spokesman for the Department of Corrections said the state transfers roughly 5,000 inmates each month based on reviews of various concerns, including their behavior or "over-familiarity" with a prison.
Sweat's transfer was made as part of that review process, according to the agency.
His escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility led to international headlines and a massive manhunt for him and fellow inmate Richard Matt, who was shot and killed by authorities.
Sweat was shot and survived.
Matt and Sweat escaped from the maximum-security facility by cutting through walls and steam pipes before exiting through a nearby manhole.
They were aided by hacksaw blades smuggled into the prison by Joyce Mitchell, an employee who was sentenced to three to seven years in prison.
Their escape was documented in the recently aired Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora.
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