Eight men on the run after audacious ‘Shawshank’ escape from New Orleans jail
Eight prisoners could be “frankly anywhere” in the US after breaking out of a New Orleans jail. Authorities have been left wondering – how did they do it?
The audacious escape saw 10 men flee the jail on Friday through a hole behind a toilet and scale a wall, in scenes reminiscent of The Shawshank Redemption movie.
The men are believed to have made their jailbreak while the lone guard assigned to their cell pod was away getting food.
While two have been recaptured, eight of the men – among them accused murderers – remain at large. Prison officials believe they may have had inside help.
Surveillance footage showed the escapees sprinting out of the Orleans Justice Centre, using blankets to scale a barbed wire fence and then sprinting across a nearby highway.
The absence of the men went unnoticed for more than seven hours – officers only learned of their escape the next morning during a routine headcount.
The hole the men are believed to have escaped through. Pic: AP
A photograph showing the hole the prisoners escaped through also revealed scrawled messages – including one saying “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing at the gap.
They ditched their jail uniforms after leaving the facility – and it is still unclear how some of them obtained regular clothes so quickly, officials said.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out because of “defective locks”.
Sheriff Hutson said there are indications that people inside her department helped the fugitives escape.
“It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help.”
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Inmates who escaped from the jail. From left top: Keith A Lewis, Dkenan Dennis, Gary C Price. Bottom from left: Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Corey E Boyd. Pic: AP
Who are the escaped men?
The men range from 19 years old to 42, with most being in their 20s.
One of the fugitives, Derrick Groves, was convicted on two charges of murder and two charges of attempted murder for his role in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men.
Another escapee, Corey Boyd, had pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.
The Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans. Pic: AP
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said some of the men “have a history of witness intimidation of citizens who were brave enough to speak up”.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called the escape “beyond unacceptable” and said local authorities waited too long to inform the public.
She said she reached out to neighbouring states to alert them about the escape, saying they have had plenty of time to get to “frankly anywhere across the country”.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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