Page 8 - James Slagle News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

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 devil's playground. >> on a bad day, too much time can lead to mayhem. >> i am making a weapon right now. melting this plastic down into a shape. >> there was a slashing ove...

Of years it's been since i've been in prison. ♪ it's been 18 long years ♪ in this old cold prison ♪ sometimes i feel so all alone ♪ ♪ sweet mountain of home ♪ so far away ♪ i'm lonesome and blue >> one of the oldest inmates in brushy mountain's permanent population is james slagle. slagle is serving a 318-year sentence for murder and has been here longer than any other inmate. >> i've spent 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 here at brushy mountain. i decided, jim, you've got to becom...

Afternoon nap. but slagle feared ray's high profile would lead them to the being captured. >> i said, james, you've got no pickup, no car. as soon as your foot touches down, they know it's you, there will be a million cops in this valley and there's no way you'll get away. it's a futile effort and i don't believe in wasting my energy, so i just sat and watched it happen. that's the corner where james and spider monkey went over. the fence was not here at this time. it was a mountain serving as the fourth wall of the penitentiary. james went over, the number one man. doug went over. spider monk...

The last stop because the road ends at brushy mountain. and there's -- there's nowhere else to go. >> but that didn't stop the prison's 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, you've got no pickup, no car, i said as soon as your foot touches down they know it's you, there will be a million cops in the valley and no one's going to get...

So i sat and watched it happen. >> james slagle, brushy mountain's 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. that's 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 before an officer and another tower finally saw them, and shot, striking the last escapee in the sho...