21-Year-Old US Man Escapes Prison 4 Months Before Release, Jailed Again For 40 Years

A 21-year-old man in the US' Mississippi was sentenced to 40 years in state prison for trying to escape from a correctional facility just months before his release.

According to Sky News, Shunekndrick Huffman fled Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in August 2022, broke into a nearby home, and held three people at gunpoint for several hours. He then stole a car from one of the hostages and crashed it. 

Authorities who were searching for him found him hiding in a trash can at the Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield, 3.2 kilometers from the prison and was locked up again within hours. WLBT reported.

Notably, he was doing a seven-year sentence for aggravated assault and was expected to be released in December 2022. That means he was just 4 months away from his freedom.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping and a circuit court judge sentenced him to 40 years in state prison, Rankin County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett said Monday.

The unfortunate prison break means he could be in his 60s before he can walk free again. It is unclear why he tried to escape just months before his release.

Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain told WLBT-TV that the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility would improve its siren system to prevent future escapes.

The correctional facility's boss, Burl Cain, also apologised at the time of the incident after a siren to alert locals to an escaped convict failed to go off