Archery, Arson Figured in Foiled Jailbreak Scheme

Six inmates in a state maximum-security prison plotted to escape by using a handmade crossbow to immobilize guards and burn down a guard tower, but their plans were foiled, officials said Saturday.

The escape attempt, which had been planned for months and was to have taken place within several days, was thwarted when Trenton State Prison guards learned of the plan last week, said James Stabile of the New Jersey Corrections Department.

The inmates were all serving lengthy terms, Stabile said.

He said they built the crossbow from pieces of furniture and stole other materials from a prison shop.

Prison officials did not disclose details, but they said the inmates planned to shoot an arrow or a firebomb at a guard tower and cross the prison wall from a second-story window of the industrial shop over a makeshift bridge.

They also collected incendiary materials that could have been launched at a guard tower to blow it up.

The six inmates have been confined to separate cells. Each could have an administrative penalty of one additional year added to his sentence, officials said.