Page 4 - James Slagle News Today

The ugliness. i saw the hatred, the violence, the misery. and i said im going to be something else. i am going to become a thinking man. by the way, thats hard to do. but i spent years reading, studying, looking within myself. im one of the most fortunate men that ever lived. >> slagle runs the library and provides legal help to other inmates. >> where they made the error on your time, your two sentences are running concurrently, which means they run together. however, when they give you your ja...

Of years its been since ive been in prison. ♪ its been 18 long years ♪ in this old cold prison sometimes i feel so all alone ♪ sweet mountain of home ♪ ♪ so far away ♪ im lonesome and blue ♪ thats all i can say >> one of the oldest inmates in brushy mountains permanent population is james slagle. slagle is serving a 318-year sentence for murder and has been here longer than any other inmate. >> ive been in the tennessee prison system without getting out, i started my 39th year thre...

The situation, accept what it is, and try to find a reasonable, honest, positive way to get through that situation and come out improved on the other side. >> one inmate who confided in slagle over the years is stephen hughley. hughley was sentenced to life for killing his mother and given a death sentence for murdering a prison counselor. slagle knows him as something other than a cold-blooded killer. >> i discovered a side to steve, maybe no one else ever saw it. you wouldnt believe who his fa...

Been in prison. ♪ its been 18 long years ♪ in this old cold prison sometimes i feel so all alone ♪ sweet mountain of home ♪ ♪ so far away ♪ im lonesome and blue >> one of the oldest inmates in brushy mountains permanent population is james slagle. slagle is serving a 318-year sentence for murder and has been here longer than any other inmate. >> ive been in the tennessee prison system without getting out, i started my 39th year three weeks ago today. and i spent 24 years of that time...

Back in the hollow, you know? you got the bluff on one side and its surrounded by mountains the last stop because the road ends at brushy mountain. and theres -- theres nowhere else to go. >> but that didnt stop the prisons most notorious inmate from attempting to escape. in 1977, nine years after he killed civil rights leader martin luther king jr., james earl ray went over the wall. during our shoot at brushy mountain, we met an inmate who was not only there, but tried to talk ray out of it. >...

the time or let the time do you. >> i went ballistic, a little bit insane. >> you have guys in here, 17, 18 years old. their puberty is just now coming. they have a lot of tension. a lot of energy. locked up since 15. that frustrates these dudes. >> on a good day, too much idle time can invite mischief. >> there is a lot of sex in prison. >> they will masturbate. curse you out. call you names. >> idle hand is the devils playground. >> on a bad day, too much time can lead to mayhem. >> ...

Of years its been since ive been in prison. ♪ its been 18 long years ♪ in this old cold prison ♪ sometimes i feel so all alone ♪ ♪ sweet mountain of home ♪ so far away ♪ im lonesome and blue >> one of the oldest inmates in brushy mountains permanent population is james slagle. slagle is serving a 318-year sentence for murder and has been here longer than any other inmate. >> ive spent in the tennessee prison system without getting out, i started my 39th year three weeks ago today. ...

Afternoon nap. but slagle feared rays high profile would lead them to the being captured. >> i said, james, youve got no pickup, no car. as soon as your foot touches down, they know its you, there will be a million cops in this valley and theres no way youll get away. its a futile effort and i dont believe in wasting my energy, so i just sat and watched it happen. thats the corner where james and spider monkey went over. the fence was not here at this time. it was a mountain serving as the fourt...

The last stop because the road ends at brushy mountain. and theres -- theres nowhere else to go. >> but that didnt stop the prisons most notorious inmate from attempting to escape. in 1977, nine years after he killed civil rights leader martin luther king jr., james earl ray went over the wall. during our shoot at brushy mountain, we met an inmate who was not only there, but tried to talk ray out of it. >> i told him, i said, james, youve got no pickup, no car, i said as soon as your foot touche...

So i sat and watched it happen. >> james slagle, brushy mountains longest-serving inmate, told us how ray led inmates over a wall using a makeshift ladder crafted from chains. they made their escape while a tower officer took an afternoon nap. thats your corner where james and doug and spider monkey and the others went over. of course the fence was not here at that time, it was just a mountain serving as the fourth wall of the penitentiary. >> after ray climbed over, six more inmates followed be...