And now live
from Folsom Prison...
Hello. I'm Johnny Cash...
January ,
Down! Down!
Northern State Penitentiary.
They say it's haunted.
Haunted?
Heard that's why they closed it
down in the early ' s.
And you believe that?
So, what are we doing here?
Two kids out here playing around.
The ground opens up on 'em.
A sinkhole?
Lands 'em right into what we think
is an old escape tunnel.
And the boys find a bag of bones?
And a prison issue uniform.
Prison break...
that's hot.
Any idea who the digger is?
We got his ID patch.
Prison number...
.
Boss was on the phone with the
Department of Corrections.
We got a match.
Wonder how he died?
Tunnel collapsed..
suffocated trying to escape.
- What's up, boss?
- Scotty, Lil.
So?
Meet Hank Dempsey.
Inmate at Northern State
starting in June, .
- So, he's been here awhile.
- Here's the weird part,
Corrections has him down
as a m*rder victim in .
So, there's a box on this job?
But Hank was supposedly
m*rder*d inside the prison walls,
and his body was cremated.
So, this guy died twice?
Told you this place is haunted.
The ME says Hank didn't
suffocate in the tunnel.
Skeleton shows blunt
force to the head.
We find a m*rder w*apon?
No. But, CSU's doing a
what's-what on the tunnel.
What's the box look like?
A snow job.
Hank Dempsey, ,
was recovering from an illness
in the infirmary.
That we know.
Then it gets screwy...
supposedly,
Hank was found m*rder*d
in a hallway outside the infirmary.
Says Correctional Officer
Mike Jaden discovered the body.
But Homicide wasn't notified
until hours after the m*rder.
hours...
plenty of time to get
your story straight.
And doctor up death records.
Hank's remains were
sent to county morgue
and mistakenly cremated.
So, a cover-up.
But why?
We're hoping Bryce Wilbur
can tell us.
He was warden at the time.
Did a search-- Wilbur's
now running the show
up at Tipley Correctional.
What about family?
Hank have any?
No. But from the interviews,
we got a cell mate,
James Hill.
He's also up at Tipley.
You two head up there.
I'll put Vera and Jeffries
on this guard, Mike Jaden.
Yeah, good.
Northern State housed some
bad boys in its day.
What was Hank's story?
Guy was doing years...
for stealing a pair of shoes?
Pull.
sh**t.
Come on, Mike.
Your name's on the report.
Says you're the officer
that found the body.
Now you know we found the body.
Look, we thought Hank had escaped.
Okay, but a man escapes...
what happened to the chasing
after him part?
We did look for him.
Six hours.
Six hours?
That's it?
That's when the warden
called off the search.
Wanted us hush-hush.
Story was to be,
Hank was m*rder*d.
And you went along with that,
no questions asked?
sh**t, boy, I was dancing a jig.
It was my fault he got loose.
So how's that go down?
This was the evening that
Johnny Cash was on the radio,
playing live at Folsom Prison.
So, most of the inmates and COs
had gathered in the mess hall.
And?
I had to haul an unruly inmate
back to his cell.
On the return trip, I took
up post in the infirmary.
But Hank was still
on the ward then?
And some other sickies.
Figured I could take
the night off...
'cause all of 'em were flat
on their back.
So, instead of watching Hank,
what, you took a cat nap?
Yeah, something like that.
Claudia...
what you doing there?
Quiet. Keep
your voice down.
Our boys all right over there?
Everything is fine.
Good. 'Cause I got an ache
over here like you wouldn't believe.
You're going to wake
everyone up.
Then you'll just have to find
a way to keep me quiet...
won't you.
And after a few minutes I come out
of the nurse's station
and that bed was empty.
And you never saw him after that?
It was like Hank had disappeared.
All right, now, I helped you...
is this thing going to come back
and bite me in the ass or what?
Can you tell us anything else?
How about this.
Since there was never a body,
a body was never sent
to the morgue.
Go on.
Well, I was there when the warden
signed papers saying there was.
In , I had two problems:
One, I was very young,
and, two, the prison
was very old...
The governor wasn't sure either
of us were up for the job.
Hank escaped one more time,
and he was closing the place down.
One more time?
He'd done it twice before.
In ' and again in late .
Hmm. But you recaptured him.
First eight,
then another ten years
were added to his sentence.
years for taking shoes...
that's pretty stiff.
He got two for stealing,
for running...
in any event,
once he'd disappeared
from the infirmary,
I had to look at the bigger picture.
So you initiated
a phony m*rder investigation
to cover up what you thought
was a successful escape.
Correct.
The problem is, warden,
that make-believe m*rder
turned out to be a real one.
Are you suggesting I had something
to do with Hank's death?
Did you?
Inmate gets k*lled during an escape,
not something I'd need to cover up.
In fact,
the first time Hank ran
we should've k*lled him.
There, on the south wall.
Get! Get! Get!
Get! Get!
Get! Get! Get!
Let's bring him down.
I've been trying to play
the hand I was dealt, warden.
I truly have.
Next shot won't be
a warning, Hank.
How's it feel way up there
on that wall, huh, Hank boy?
Lonely.
Screw your head on, son.
You've only been here
a few months.
It gets easier.
In two years you'll walk out of here.
Why jeopardize that?
Two years.
Might as well be a life sentence.
Going to be longer if you don't
climb down from there.
I just...
I got to get back...
sh**t him.
Jaden, you sorry
son of a bitch...
Get the dogs out.
As much as I wanted
to help that boy,
had I been doing
the sh**ting that night,
I wouldn't have missed.
Hank wanted to get back.
To where?
Not my concern.
Hunting him down is
what I cared about...
and he got less than a mile.
Okay.
Every blue moon some fella
gets it in his head to tunnel out...
but I never made Hank for a digger.
How'd he do it?
Still trying to figure that out.
You do, be obliged you let me know.
You and Hank sharing
a cell three years,
you and him must have been close.
Soul brothers.
So, did Hank talk much about
how he was going to escape?
No.
Nothing. Ever?
A man betters his chances
if he keeps such plans to himself.
Okay, but why escape at all
with such a light sentence?
That Hank had a mind of his own.
Says here you served six years
at Northern State,
and then transferred
here when it closed.
Uh-huh.
So that means for years,
Bryce Wilbur's the only warden
you've ever known.
Okay.
What's your opinion of him?
Tough, fair.
Doesn't play around.
How about a former guard
at Northern State, Mike Jaden?
Pretty girl?
Pretty girl?
That's what we used to call him,
and not just inmates, guards, too.
Hank, finish up.
Beat it.
Did you do it?
I think the boys will appreciate this.
Yeah, just like that.
Ok, I'm going to unbuckle now.
Aha,
there.
Look at my face.
Now say the magic words.
I don't want to.
Come on, you have to.
Otherwise I'm no good.
Say it.
Say I'm pretty.
Come on now, say it, say it.
You're pretty.
Oh, yeah, that's mighty good.
Now, do the next bit.
I'm pretty like what, huh?
Say it, pretty like what?
Like a girl.
Pretty girl!
Shh.
Hear that?
What?
What the sam hill's
going on in there?
What are you mutts laughing about?
Pretty girl!
Hank, you son of a bitch.
You boys are goners!
Damn. That'd be a reason
to go after Hank.
Yeah, and after
Hank disappeared for good,
pretty girl would walk
on the cell block
cocky, for all to see.
Boasting he'd done the deed?
Not directly.
But guys did start calling him
Officer Jaden again.
Your bar, huh, Mike?
Bought and paid for.
It's a nice joint.
It's a living.
I'd offer you a drink,
but I used up all my hospitality
on the other two.
Use up all your lies, too?
How'd I lie?
You didn't tell us about this itchin'
you had for Hank.
How he made you
jackass number one.
Punked by all the inmates.
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
Hey, that happened to me,
I'd start drinking for a living, too.
Yeah, but say I'm a "pretty girl"
who had a score to settle,
I might just man-up and see to that first.
I didn't k*ll Hank Dempsey.
But I did want to settle a score.
So, what'd you do?
Planted two boxes
of "Duffy's Hay" in Hank's cell.
"Duffy's Hay"?
Smokes. / How'd having the smokes
hurt Hank?
Triple m*rder*r named
Johnny Harkin controlled the action.
Guy was a half-tweaked
hate machine.
You plant Johnny's smokes
on Hank,
then tell Johnny who's got 'em.
Thinking Johnny would k*ll Hank.
If not him, one of his crew.
So, you think he pulled it off?
Now that you tell me
Hank was m*rder*d...
seems possible.
Any idea on where Johnny is today?
Yeah.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Prison grapevine says he was
k*lled in a knife fight in Detroit.
Can't say I'm really sorry
about it either.
Only way into that tunnel was through
an old air vent, in the library.
Yeah, but Hank was in the infirmary.
The library and infirmary
share a wall.
He go through the ceiling tiles?
Hm-mm. So, Hank crawls
feet through the vent,
hits a dead end.
What's he do?
Digs. Through three feet of dirt,
which then drops him into
and this is the beauty part
an existing tunnel
from a -man escape.
Cool.
And that tunnel goes under
Fairmount Avenue,
comes out a manhole cover
over on nd street.
Hmm, a block from the prison.
These guys in ' get away?
Entire dirty dozen were captured
within an hour.
The question is how did Hank know
where that old tunnel was?
Another question,
what's in Bucks County?
The second time Hank ran,
he was recaptured
outside the city.
Vera's over there now
getting their police report.
The guard, Jaden, pointed to this
Johnny Harkin?
The problem with him as our doer,
he was released two weeks
before Hank was k*lled.
If Johnny's on the outside,
maybe his long arm still
got things done.
Who was his number one henchman?
His old cell mate, Wendall Foyt.
We know what became of Wendall?
Hal's auto, Germantown.
You heard about Detroit, huh?
Knife fight that k*lled Johnny?
Yeah, tough luck.
Me and Johnny
ran the mail room.
So, running the contraband
made you two
"King of the Hill."
The mail room gave us power.
Droppin' guys made us king.
Here, shake.
Still strong, right?
Yeah.
Working on these the past years
kept me that way.
So, Wendall, when Hank stole
those smokes from you,
you do something with
those strong hands of yours?
Won't deny, I told Johnny
we should get Hank alone
and cut him up.
What did Johnny say?
No.
We would do it in the mess hall.
For all to see.
I'll trade you my fruit cocktail.
Hi, Hank.
- I've been waiting for you fellas.
- You were waiting for us?
Smokes are still in their cartons,
'cept for one or two
I gave to my pal, James, here.
I was set up. / Shh... shush.
Now, in seconds,
your insides'll be spilling
on the floor.
Any last wishes?
Tell me about Willie Harkin.
Who? / My daddy.
Sorry, I got the name wrong.
I meant your grandpops.
Gramps and my dad
were both named Willie.
Now, what in the hell
do you know about them?
They both did time in this prison.
Both did murders.
One of them, I think
your grandpa, lived in my cell.
What are ya talking about?
His name is etched on the wall.
If you wanna see it,
I'd show you.
Come by your cell later...
grab those smokes.
No problem.
Hey, on your mother,
you didn't steal from us, right?
What good's a pack
of smokes to me?
My wife made me quit.
Pretty cool customer, that Hank.
My hat was off to him.
What about this "wife"?
Our records don't show
Hank had anyone.
I don't know about a wife.
But he would talk about his
sweetheart from Bucks County.
Bobbi something.
Old Hank got himself
in all this trouble
because Bobbi wanted
a pair of shoes.
They weren't shoes.
They were boots.
Knockoffs...
like Nancy Sinatra's
"made for walking" boots.
He knew I loved them.
So Hank went out
and got 'em for you.
Women and shoes.
Anyway, that was a long time ago.
Our records show when Hank
escaped that second time...
December ' ...
he was caught in Bucks County,
at your aunt's house.
I was staying there. He came straight
to me the second he escaped.
Kinda shortsighted, wasn't it?
Hank was compulsive.
Just couldn't stay away?
Now this one's over the moon.
Anyway, in the end,
I found the right person for me.
Lyle and I have been married
for years.
Like this Hank was some sort
of Steve McQueen...
Tell 'em about that night
at your aunt's house.
It's okay.
Hank, what are you doing here?
I always told you
when I got out I'd come straight
to my wife.
Baby, there's no time.
You need to run... / Shh...
close your eyes. / Hank...
Bobbi, please...
You weren't listening...
Bobbi Jean Banks,
will you be my wife?
Hank, you can't come all this way,
just to let them catch you again.
It was worth it.
Hold it right there, Hank.
That's twice now
you've run on me, Hank.
Laundry truck had my name on it,
warden.
Evening.
Oh, casserole.
How nice.
Do you mind?
Mmm. It's only so-so, Hank.
You'd do just as good
back at the house.
I'll come back to you.
Promise.
No. Hank.
You won't.
Save the rest for when you get back
to your cell, okay?
I didn't get your answer.
Wave bye-bye, miss.
You're never going to see Hank again.
Yes.
Lucky for me that warden
meant what he said.
He always makes it so easy for me.
We'll leave you
to your gardening.
Detective Rush...
I knew when I opened
that package
he couldn't have paid
for those boots,
but I wanted them so much.
I always regretted that...
It wouldn't have mattered.
Hank would never have let you
give those boots back.
How do you know?
'Cause I knew someone
just like him...
once.
We think the warden's got skeletons
in his closet, James.
We also think he's a lot more
than "tough" and "fair,"
like you told me.
Okay.
We checked his personnel file.
reports of misconduct.
Maybe you said what you said
because you've been
under his watch for years.
So, what if we got you
transferred outta here?
Houtzdale, Chester,
whatever you want, James.
Today?
Today.
I was in the cell
when they brought Hank back
from his lady's place that night.
What kind of shape was he in?
He was holding up.
Showed me the fork
wounds on his hand.
Nasty.
Anything else happen that night?
Yeah.
The warden happened.
Hey.
You're making me look bad, Hank,
and I got enough trouble with the rats
and water in this place, yes?
You saw her, warden.
I can't help it.
I got the fever.
Little gal's got you
going the wrong way, Hank.
You already had eight years put on
now, it'll be ten more.
Does that make sense?
Gimme your hand.
Now, I want you to tell every last soul
in this ever lovin' prison
that you'll never get off me again.
Otherwise,
you and me gonna have a little game
of... little piggy.
Hank. Go on.
Say it.
I'd be lying.
This one went to the market.
Come on, Hank.
It's gotta hurt more than that.
No? Okay.
This little piggy stayed home.
Damn it, boy!
Let 'em hear!
After the pliers,
they took him out.
Later, I heard talk about him getting
wailed on with a Louisville slugger.
Okay, James.
You're coming with us.
Let you stay in hotel homicide
till we get that transfer worked out.
Lil, I called the state police
about the warden.
Well, James says he's been
terrorizing inmates for years.
He put a hurtin' on
Hank back in ' ?
Hank never would cry uncle.
Gotta admire that.
The guy had heart.
You're supposed to be
on the side of the law, Lil.
I can't be on the
side of this warden.
So how do you
figure him as the doer?
Hank died from blunt-force trauma.
This baseball bat could
be the m*rder w*apon.
Maybe why he was in the
infirmary, not pneumonia.
Mm-hmm. A month later,
say he died from the injuries.
The warden dumps the body
in a tunnel no one knows about.
Hmm.
What about this nurse
who was treating him?
Scotty's paying her
a house call.
Ms. Valez,
I don't mean to be too personal.
It's okay.
Yeah. I'd pass the time
with Jaden there for a while.
Aka... pretty girl?
Aka the big dud.
But he was harmless.
So the night Hank was brought
into the infirmary,
was there a head wound?
Not that I recall.
Body bruises,
like he took a beating.
Plus, the hand was mangled.
Real bad.
Two fingers broke.
And during the month,
uh, Hank was with you,
the warden ever pay a visit?
I think the warden
did enough, don't you?
Anyone come to see Hank?
Only his friend, Johnny,
and he came to help.
So, Hank and Johnny
became friends?
Real good ones.
Claudia. / Johnny.
Hear you're getting out.
Tomorrow morning.
Maybe I'll find your house.
We can have a date.
Hey, Johnny!
Cool it.
Yeah, right.
I'm sorry.
That was stupid.
Call that number like I told ya?
The Falcon will take care of us.
Good. Now, do your part.
You got till "the man in black" comes
to pull your strength together.
Johnny. Better get.
Hey, Johnny.
You're true blue.
'Member, that's what sets you apart
from the rest of your family. / Ah...
Me and the boss will be waiting
for you on the other side.
So Johnny was helping
Hank escape.
And I never reported it,
'cause I'd always felt
that Hank got a bum deal.
What about, um... "the boss"?
Any idea who that was?
No. But if he was as handsome
as Hank and Johnny,
I'd like to meet him.
Johnny Harkin was paroled
two weeks before
the Johnny Cash broadcast.
And left with the intention
of helping Hank bust loose.
Turns out Johnny's
granddad, Willie Harkin,
was one of the that
built the tunnel in ' .
So, stories about the tunnel
are passed down over the years
and Johnny tells his pal,
Hank where to find it.
So Johnny knows
about the old tunnel.
Why doesn't he
ever try an escape?
Well, he was serving
five, out in three.
Why risk doing time
you don't have to?
Right, don't be like Hank.
Rush.
Hey, Frannie.
Vay-lens.
Get to my bones yet?
For all I know, your dead guy
could've played Rachmaninoff.
No sign of breaks or
fractures on the fingers.
But Hank's fingers
were broken with pliers.
Wouldn't you be
able to see that?
Yes. And I'm telling you
those fingers were good as new.
Valens, you a little stumped?
No, I got it.
Those ain't Hank's hands.
So...those aren't Hank's bones at all.
Taking a load off.
You don't mind?
It's your house.
You like it?
You, uh, do a lot with a little.
Now,
you say it was someone else wearing
Hank's prison uniform in that tunnel?
Well, we're checking dental records,
but that's what we're thinking.
We know Johnny and someone
called "the boss"
were helping Hank escape.
Okay.
Well, you told us Johnny died,
so he ain't the skeleton.
Right. / Leaving the boss,
but we don't know who that is.
Well, as far as "the boss" goes...
Johnny wasn't one
to take orders.
So, there's no one he ever
mentioned by that name?
Oh, I didn't say that.
So, one day...
I'm out on the stoop,
and I catch Bobbi coming my way.
She walking real fast,
not in a hurry, you know,
but with purpose.
What did you say to her?
Nothing comes out.
Oh, man.
I know.
She just walks on by,
never looks over.
This keeps happening
three days in a row.
Finally, on day four,
when I'm 'bout ready to call it quits,
Bobbi slows up, looks over,
and sticks her tongue out at me.
Oh, Mother Mary.
Just real cute like?
Like it didn't even happen.
So, then what?
I said, "I'm Hank,"
and Bobbi says, "'bout time
you showed some manners.
"So, get off your rear end
and walk me home."
She was bossing ya like that?
Oh, my.
Mmm!
Don't you just love it?
That day on,
nothing would keep me from being
with that girl with the long, blonde hair.
What else, Hank?
What's that bossy
lady o' yours like?
Bet she can fill
a pair a' blue jeans, huh?
Oh, uh...
mmm. Um...
man.
Sandman's coming
to get me, Johnny.
More in the morning.
Johnny always called
her "the boss" after that.
Johnny gives her that name,
how's it go over with Hank?
Well, Hank was patient with him.
He knew Johnny didn't have much.
Story hour helped him get by.
So, Bobbi's "the boss."
Hill said the same.
Bobbi's also the Falcon.
DMV shows a Ford Falcon
' sport was registered in her name.
So, she and Johnny were gonna
get Hank out of that tunnel together.
Falcon was the getaway car.
Thing is, we know Bobbi's
still alive,
so, those bones aren't
the boss's.
And we know they're not Hank's.
Which leaves Johnny,
but he supposedly died in Detroit.
But maybe not.
There's no death certificate
for a Johnny Harkin in Detroit.
Maybe that knife fight
rumor was a sham.
Maybe he died in that tunnel instead.
So, the bones in the tunnel
are Johnny.
Where's Hank?
Where's Lyle, Bobbi?
He went fishing.
And I'm getting ready to join him.
He seems like a nice guy.
Grounded.
He's a good man.
He's smart, too.
Romance?
You make do.
I know about making do.
I lost my number one smile,
way back.
I'm sorry.
We were gonna move upstate.
Live on a farm. / Yeah?
Not that I've ever been upstate.
I just liked the sound of it. / Uh-huh.
Had this image in my mind,
he's out in the field,
I'm in the kitchen with my little girl,
telling her about the day
her daddy sold his motorcycle
to buy our wedding bands.
He sounds special.
Been settling for less ever since.
- That's a hard way to live.
- No. I'm fine.
Just don't look me in the eye
and tell me you're making do.
Pardon?
You're not sitting around
pining for Hank...
because you're with Hank.
Aren't you?
You can't arrest me.
My husband told me the statute of
limitations are up.
That why you're the one
following behind?
Safe for you, but not Hank?
You want to sit down?
So, he went fishing, huh?
Want to tell me where?
Just a place.
Somewhere nice.
Somewhere that doesn't
extradite?
He thinks of everything.
Guess Johnny was just
a loose end, huh?
No.
Hank thought of Johnny
as a friend.
True blue.
Then how come Johnny
ends up dead?
You wouldn't understand.
Make me.
I love how this man sings.
Stands up there like
a wall of granite,
but can still speak his heart some.
The concert's almost over.
When's he going to get here?
You don't like Johnny Cash?
The manhole cover's
halfway across the road.
What if we don't
hear Hank's signal?
He'll be pounding so hard,
have to keep him from
waking the neighbors.
Bobbi, these last two weeks...
Cops.
No, it's not.
Bobbi,
easy.
Easy.
Your...
Your hair.
That was stupid.
I didn't mean it.
No, I swear, Johnny,
you've become my second
favorite man in the whole world.
Better go see
what's keeping him.
The plan was to wait
until he knocks.
No, this is better.
Johnny?
It's me.
You were gonna wait
above ground.
- Where's Bobbi?
- In the Falcon.
Let's go.
I should...
I should tell you about her.
Bobbi okay,
something wrong?
Yeah. There is.
She's... perfect.
Johnny, you seem off.
Baby, look out!
- Why are you doing this?
- You got what I want!
Johnny...
don't hurt him.
No matter what you do,
I'll never be yours.
Guess maybe
I already knew that.
This ain't a wrestling match.
Better pick that up, Hank boy.
There...
we're even steven.
Johnny, it doesn't
have to be this.
I'm a Harkin.
That's my blood.
Hank,
put on his clothes.
You're gonna make it this time.
Johnny CashÀÇ 'Flesh And Blood'
Beside a Singin' Mountain Stream
Where the Willow grew
Where the Silver Leaf of Maple
Sparkled in the Mornin' Dew
I braided Twigs of Willows
Made a String of Buckeye Beads;
But Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.
I leaned against a Bark of Birch
And I breathed the Honey Dew
I saw a North-bound Flock of Geese
Against a Sky of Baby Blue
Beside the Lily Pads
I carved a Whistle from a Reed;
Mother Nature's quite a Lady
But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.
A Cardinal sang just for me
And I thanked him for the Song
Then the Sun went slowly down the West
And I had to move along
These were some of the things
on which my Mind and Spirit feed;
But Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.
And Love is all that will remain
And grow from all these Seed;
Mother Nature's quite a Lady
But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.