1 – Where Is Forrest? Tales of an Escape Artist Paperback

Forrest Turner was a law breaker and a “jailbreaker.” Many said he was the most famous prison escape artist of the twentieth century and that only Houdini got more publicity than him. During the 1930s and 1940s he escaped eleven times, only to be recaptured each time. Four of his escapes were from the newly constructed maximum-security facility in Reidsville. With each escape additional prison time was added to his sentence. It was not just his many escapes from prisons but the remarkable breaks into work camps and prisons to free other convicts which made him famous.

It was at the peak of his depression, confined to solitary with no hope of ever gaining his freedom, when the realization that contrition was his only means of survival. He found religion, became a model prisoner and eventually earned parole in 1949.

After his release he aggressively promoted penal reform and better care for the state’s mentally ill. To juvenile delinquents he preached the consequences of breaking the law. To promote his many causes, he made thousands of speeches to youth groups, churches and civic organizations. He counseled hundreds of parolees thus keeping them from re-entering prison. He gave back more to society than he took as a thief