Have prisoners been watching too many episodes of Star Trek? Now they're using the air vents to escape from jails, at least in Washington state and then tied together sheets to lower themselves down to the ground. The same thing happened in 1994 at the same jail --- time for a renovation, guys.

I always find it funny that air vents are still a good way out of a problem when you can't figure out a way for the hero of a TV show to escape, but when real-life imitates art, that's pretty weird.

I guess they got most of them back, but they don't mess around in Washington State either (always thought they'd be a little kinder and gentler) as the news report said:

------------------
"They were verbally combative," Granato said. "They weren't happy they had been captured."

Luera, 20, who faced a December 5 murder trial for the shooting death of his stepbrother, had a broken leg and was taken to a hospital. Terry Moser, 25, who had been charged with assault, was also back in custody.
-------------------

"Verbally combative"????? And yet he winds up with a broken leg??? Sounds like something more than just verbal was going on where they were discovered (his sister's attic - DUH!).

They've got to do something about that place. I'm guessing the guards at the prisons just aren't that bright, because you'd think it would be harder to get out of a jail - yet all the classic things from movies keep working. There was a guy in Texas a year ago or so who faked an illness and got out through the hospital. It's not like that's not something that you'd think about before hand - this isn't Great Escape territory, it's something so simple you ought to have a control in place.