George Rivas walked slowly out of the guard house of the maximum security prison he was serving time in and made his way over to the gate beside the guard tower.  Nervously he cleared his throat and yelled up to the officer to open the main gate. The officer approached the side of the tower and peered down at the inmate who was now disguised in civilian clothing… the gate remained shut. If he was going to escape, Rivas needed this gate open. He yelled up to the officer again and watched in horror as he backed away from the edge and went inside the guard tower. The panic set in and Rivas’ heart started to pound in his chest. Was the guard calling for backup? Did he recognize him? Could he see right through the plan? Rivas needed to get up into that guard tower. He needed that gate opened. His escape plan depended on it.  

Jody Thompson anxiously peered around the corner of the prison loading dock. Just 10 meters in front of him he could see the delivery truck with its back door still open. All he needed to do was quickly run across the dock and jump into the back. This was his ride out of prison. He just had to make sure that no one saw him. Jody Thompson took a deep breath and began to run.  

Harold Laird stood against his cell door trying not to nervously shake. He watched on in horror as an officer banged his fist against the plastic frame that covered the flickering light fixture on his wall. The plastic frame that Laird had haphazardly reattached when he heard the guard coming just 30 seconds before. One bang too many and Laird’s escape plan would be uncovered.  

Elmira Correctional Facility prisoner Timothy Vail, stared down the guard at centre gate who’d just emerged with a hand held metal detector. He felt the straps of the bag he’d slung over his shoulder weigh down heavily on him. He felt the head of the sledgehammer he’d just stolen from the carpentry shop and stashed in the bag dig into his side. He felt panic as the line of prisoners moved through the gate and he was seconds away from being frisked and scanned. Timothy Vail took a deep breath, he needed to act fast. This was the moment that would make or break his escape.  

Western Penitentiary prisoner Nuno Pontes has 17 seconds. 17 seconds to take a makeshift key, sneak into a restricted area undetected and test that his key fits the padlock. The padlock that’s locking the door to freedom. 17 seconds that could make or break his escape.