‘Shawshank Fugitive’ Frank Freshwaters Could Be Paroled Today

Frank Freshwaters, now known by many as the “Shawshank fugitive,” spent 56 years of his life on the run. Today, February 25, he goes before a parole board in a conference room at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Operation Support Center in Columbus Ohio, and will attempt to once again reclaim his freedom.

In 1957, the then-21-year-old Freshwaters accidentally struck and killed Eugene Flynt, a married father of three, on an Akron, Ohio, street. Prior to this, the so-called Shawshank fugitive had no criminal record.

Freshwaters ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. The Shawshank fugitive was give a five-year probation rather that the one to 20 years in prison his admitted crime potentially carried. However, he violated that probation and was incarcerated in the Ohio State Reformatory. The notorious prison, located in Mansfield, gained notoriety in the Stephen King book and later film adaptation, The Shawshank Redemption.

Frank Freshwaters was something of a model prisoner, reports NBC News, which is why he was transferred to a less-secure detention facility. It was from that state-run prison farm that Freshwaters, a.k.a. the Shawshank fugitive, escaped from a mere seven months later in 1959.

Frank Freshwaters was able to elude recapture for an astonishing 16 years before he was picked up in 1975 in West Virginia. However, according to U.S. Marshals, the West Virginia governor refused to extradite Freshwaters, citing his “flawless 16-year residency” in the state, and the Shawshank fugitive was released from custody.

Despite his release from custody in West Virginia, Frank Freshwaters was still a fugitive in Ohio, and he spent years of his life living under multiple aliases, including “Freshwater.” He made his living driving trucks, and even collected Social Security while he was on the lam.

While he was a fugitive from justice in Ohio, authorities there continued to work on apprehending him and bringing him to justice. Ultimately, a law enforcement investigative team, including police officers from Florida, set their sights on a man by the name of William H. Cox. He was living on the east coast of Florida, and he was believed to be Freshwaters. Authorities concocted a scheme to get their target to sign papers so that they could try to tie him to the elusive Shawshank fugitive via fingerprints.

Frank Freshwaters, the Shawshank fugitive, was finally and non-violently apprehended in 2015. Freshwaters will be 80-years-old in April, and may be on his way to the first legal freedom he’s enjoyed since his early 20’s.

Three representatives of the victim are expected to testify at his parole hearing, including Richard Flynt, son of Eugene Flynt, who was only 3-years-old when his father was hit and killed by Freshwaters in 1957. The other two “victim’s representatives” are reportedly Brad Gessner, chief counsel with the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office and Crystal Baker, director of victim services, also of the Summit County office.

“In essence, he caused my life nothing but trouble. I don’t think they can just pat him on the back and send him home.”

The prosecutors have also been vocal in their opposition to an early release for Frank Freshwaters. Prosecutors told Florida Today in an interview that the Shawshank fugitive “deserves no clemency.”

“Freshwaters failed to comply with his probation, and did not pay a dime of the $1,500 he was ordered to pay in restitution to Flynt’s family. Freshwaters was eventually sentenced to serve between one and 20 years in prison, yet spent only seven months behind bars before escaping in 1959. Since then, Freshwaters has lived free, had a family, and even collected Social Security under an assumed name.”

It is unknown whether or not Freshwaters himself will be present at the parole hearing, which was supposed to commence at 1 p.m. local time, is reportedly getting a later-than-scheduled start due to a previous, unrelated hearing running long. Testimony on behalf of Frank Freshwaters, the now-notorious Shawshank fugitive, will come from his attorney.