Details Of Burham Escape In Warren Come More Into Focus
After escaping from the county jail and onto the roof of the courthouse, Michael Burham descended here, down the outside of the stairwell on the western side of the Warren County Courthouse. Photo by Josh Cotton
Commissioner Jeff Eggleston confirmed that the checkered portion of this Google Maps image is the rec yard of the county jail where Burham escaped. For reference, the original portion of the courthouse is at the bottom of the image and Market St. can be seen on the right.
After escaping from the county jail and onto the roof of the courthouse, Michael Burham descended here, down the outside of the stairwell on the western side of the Warren County Courthouse. Photo by Josh Cotton
Commissioner Jeff Eggleston confirmed that the checkered portion of this Google Maps image is the rec yard of the county jail where Burham escaped. For reference, the original portion of the courthouse is at the bottom of the image and Market St. can be seen on the right.
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WARREN, Pa. -- Everyone has been asking a variation of the same question: How did high-profile inmate Michael Burham manage to escape from the Warren County Jail?
Many elements of that question are under investigation, including how did he accrue so many bed sheets? Did he have any help from fellow inmates or staff? Is there help on the outside?
Because those questions are part of the investigation, law enforcement has been tight-lipped. But understanding where the recreation yard is and the nature of the breach that allowed Burham to escape, paints a clearer picture of just how he was able to pull it off.
By now, the basics of the story are clear: Burham -- being held on kidnapping charges and the prime suspect in a Jamestown homicide -- was able to climb out the top of the rec yard, across the roof of the courthouse, down a bed-sheet improvised rope and then jump to the ground. The rec yard's presence on the second floor of the county jail makes the entire story more believable.
Commissioner Jeff Eggleston explained Wednesday that the yard is a 40-foot by 40-foot room with a cage on the top floor. He said the top of that cage is a series of beams covered by chain link fence.
"Essentially it's a box that is on the top level of the jail," Eggleston said. "The chain link fence on top of steel girders, a small portion of it, pieces that hold that fence down, that was broken.
That's the "hole that allowed him to escape."
All Burham had to do to reach that, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by City of Warren police, was to climb on top of a pull-up bar.
Police allege in the affidavit that, prior to the escape, Burham was observed walking in and out of his cell. Other inmates were also observed in and out of his cell. He was one of four escorted to the recreation yard before 11 p.m. last Thursday.
Burham was "the only one who attempted to escape," Eggleston said.
Eggleston said "immediate structural repairs" are expected to be completed by the end of the week.
"The Commissioners and Prison Board have also ordered the space be augmented with deterrents and safety measures," a statement from the county explained, "and that the exercise equipment be removed and replaced with equipment that does not provide access to higher positions in the facility."
Eggleston outlined two primary styles of jails. One is where staff are intended to be everywhere and the other -- how the Warren County Jail is configured -- to be monitored by cameras in a central control room.
That means there were no correctional officers in the yard. "They were being watched on camera," Eggleston said. "This person moved up through the roof very quickly."
Pennsylvania Code states the following regarding rec time for inmates: "Jails shall provide all prisoners at least two hours daily, physical exercise in the open, weather permitting. If the weather is inclement, each inmate shall have two hours physical exercise daily indoors."
Inmates under disciplinary status or in segregation are given one hour, five days a week.
County staff told the Times Observer last Friday that, given the number of inmates in the county jail and the needs of inmates, it was not abnormal for prisoners to be on the yard that late at night.