A Shawshank Escape

Two criminals escaped from the Union County jail in New Jersey by breaking through the concrete block walls of their cells, and jumping to freedom. They covered up the walls with posters of bikini clad women, and stuffed their cots so that they looked like they were still in the cells.

Two inmates escaped from a county jail, hiding the holes they made in the walls by putting up photos of bikini-clad women, officials said.

Authorities searched over the weekend for Jose Espinosa, who was awaiting sentencing for manslaughter, and Otis Blunt, who was facing robbery and other charges. They also launched a review of jail security.

The two got out of the Union County jail Saturday evening. The county prosecutor's office said the two apparently removed cement blocks from two walls, squeezed through the openings, jumped to a rooftop below and then made it over a 25-foot-high fence. The section they escaped from was supposed to be the most secure area of the facility.

"I'm extremely disturbed that a jail with the capability of security it has would foster a breach of this nature," County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday's editions.

Espinosa, 20, an alleged gang member, was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2005 drive-by shooting in Elizabeth. Blunt, 32, was awaiting trial on charges of robbery and weapons offenses.

If this sounds slightly familiar, it should. This kind of escape was done in the book turned movie Shawshank Redemption.

Keep this in mind as NJ Governor Jon Corzine puts pen to paper and signs the New Jersey death penalty out of existence (even as the state hasn't executed anyone since 1963).