A teenager convicted of several felonies escaped from Westfield Penitentiary at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. The prisoner was caught by the authorities only a few hours after his escape and returned to his cell upon recapture.
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The escape occurred at Westfield Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison headed by Warden Mr. Peter Renwick and located at 550 Dorian Rd.Freed was housed in the    science cell block at the time of his escape. The penitentiary’s head of security, Mr. James DeSarno, believes that Freed had been plotting his escape for months.

Said DeSarno: “The prisoners spend a lot of time reflecting on their actions each day during a designated time we call ‘detention.’ We believe that Freed not only reflected during this time, but also thoroughly planned his escape.”

Freed managed to escape through an unauthorized exit featuring an armored door at the end of an isolated breezeway near his cell block. Security became aware of the breach when a  No. 2 pencil was found propping open the door.

It is believed by the authorities that Freed’s escape was prompted by his discontent with the regulations of the prison. Inmates are only allowed to spend their free time in specified locations such as the cafeterias, library and prisoner center. They are also only permitted to pass through heavily guarded corridors marked by blue lines.

Additionally, Freed is suspected to have been dissatisfied with the daily amount of fresh air allotted to prisoners, as they are only allowed in the prison yard during a single 43-minute period each day.

What the authorities have yet to discover is how Freed managed to get past the highest levels of security in the prison.

“Our officers guard every entrance and monitor those who enter and exit with an extremely high-tech, computerized system,” said DeSarno. “In addition, we are currently implementing an around-the- clock security system that will allow us to better monitor the inmates.”

The system requires visitors and personnel who enter and exit the prison to scan in and out with specialized IDs. Security at the penitentiary is currently being increased as well, in order to decrease security breaches such as Freed’s.

Renwick said that he spoke with Freed briefly after his recapture, but refused to give any details of their conversation. “As Gandhi once said, live as if you were to die tomorrow. Freed was just trying to follow Gandhi’s advice.” he said.