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Stream. Watch over 2,000 documentaries for free for
30 days at CuriosityStream.com/HAI. Prison. Home of melancholic harmonica playing, stripy
suits, and nearly 1% of the US population. Oh whoops, that one wasn’t funny. Prisons have been around since basically the
beginning of recorded history, starting with the ancient Mesopotamians in 3,200 BC. But for most of history, prison wasn’t really
used as punishment—it was just a chill out zone where you would keep people while they
either waited for trial or waited to be punished in some other way, like execution, banishment,
or watching 13-minute videos about logistics. It wasn’t until 19th century England that
prison sentences were used as a standard form of punishment, and although punitive prisons
have become common across the world, every country still does things a little differently. For example, prisons in Brazil will let inmates
reduce their sentence by four days for every book they read and write a report on; in China,
rich people often hire body doubles to go to prison in their place; and what started
as a British prison now has the third-best kayaking team in the world. No matter where you go to prison, though,
the main idea is the same: you’re not supposed to leave. But, depending on where you are, the consequences
for leaving are vastly different. In the United States, if you escape from prison,
you could be facing as many as 10 additional years behind bars, depending on what jurisdiction
you’re in and your prior criminal record. But here, in Germany, escaping from prison
is totally, 100% legal. That’s right—no matter how many schnitzel
you’ve stolen or bratwursts you’ve burgled, you cannot be punished for breaking out of
a German jail. You see, all the way back to the 1880s, the
legislature of what was then the German Empire—the Reichstag—decreed that all people have the
right to seek self-liberation and therefore should not be punished for escaping prison. Today, over 130 years later, that law is still
in effect. And it’s not just Germany. Austria, Belgium, and Mexico all have laws
saying you can’t be punished for a prison break. The basic reasoning is that there’s a difference
between the right to have freedom, and the right to seek freedom. Kind of like how this video has the right
to try to be funny, but it doesn’t have the right to actually be funny. When you commit a crime, you forfeit your
right to have freedom, which is why the government can lock you up. But these countries believe that people always
have the right to seek freedom. As a Mexican Supreme Court judge put it, "The
basic desire for freedom is implicit inside every man, so trying to escape cannot be considered
a crime." There are, however, a few caveats. If, after your escape, the police find you,
you can still be sent back to prison. Escaping doesn’t mean your sentence goes
away, it just means they can’t add on any extra time for the escape. Plus, even though escaping isn’t against
the law, it’s still against prison rules, so even though you can’t get extra jail
time, you’re less likely to get approved for parole. And if you commit any other crimes in the
process of escaping, you’re still on the hook for those. If you bribe a guard, that’s still bribery. If you have to steal a getaway car, that’s
still theft. If you break the bars of your cell, that’s
still destruction of property. And if you leave a mean YouTube comment under
a video that was made by a really nice guy who’s just trying his best, well, that’s
not illegal, but it still hurts my, I mean… that guy’s feelings. But despite how difficult it is, a legal prison
escape can be done. If you don’t believe me, just ask this man:
American businessman Joel Kaplan, who in 1971 escaped from a Mexican prison without breaking
a single law. Kaplan’s escape was carefully planned in
order to avoid committing any crimes. It was carried out while the guards were watching
a movie, so he didn’t have to bribe or assault anyone. The helicopter that picked him up had been
bought in full, instead of leased, so he couldn’t be accused of misusing rented property. Kaplan then boarded a private, single-engine
Cessna plane, again bought in full and complete with the required identifying numbers, on
which he flew to California, following a flight plan that had been submitted to and approved
by the FAA. After landing, Kaplan presented himself to
customs with his real name, avoiding charges of entering a country illegally, and was granted
entry as word had not yet reached anyone that he was missing. Kaplan laid low for a while, and neither the
FBI or Mexican government showed much interest in finding him, so he never returned to carry
out his sentence. While he was laying low, though, he probably
had a lot of free time—time he could have used on getting edumacated if it wasn’t
1971. Luckily you live in at least 2015 so you know
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Imagine the akward situations...
Hey... um so ha... you got me again !!
Yeah... haha... at least you tried... we will just go back to your cell and... are you trying to run away again ?
Yep... I am... Hahaha... you're quick.
Okay, just... Just do as you want. But I'll get you.
Okay. I'll just do my thing and try to escape again.
Yeeeaaahhh... It's not like it's illegal or something... Hahaha... haha... ha...
In Uruguay too
Obviously. Keeping criminals in jail is the jailer's job, not the criminal's.
I just keep thinking of the prison break in wolfenstein.