David Sweat was sentenced Wednesday morning to three consecutive 3-1/2-to-7-year terms for his now-infamous escapee from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora last June.
Sweat was on the run for 23 days after he and partner Richard Matt used hacksaw blades and to cut their way out of the pipes at Clinton Correctional Facility.
The two made a break for it across the Northern Adirondacks. Matt was shot and killed by authorities. Sweat was shot and captured two days later, about a mile from the Canadian border.
The two had worked with former prison employee Joyce Mitchell to get the tools they needed to escape. Mitchell is already in prison for her part. Another ex-prison guard, Gene Palmer, has pleaded not guilty for his alleged role smuggling the tools.
Sweat spoke briefly before his sentencing saying:
"I'd like to apologize to the community, and people who felt the fear, and felt it necessary to leave their homes, or their community because of the escape. That was never my intent, and I deeply apologize for that your honor."
District attorney Andrew Wylie says the sentence is still meaningful.
"Whether David Sweat was facing a life without parole sentence; whether he was facing a 10-year determinate sentence, or a 10- to 20-year sentence," Wylie said, "we need to send a message for people that escape from state prisons, not only around the state but around the country."
Besides going back to prison, Sweat is also responsible for nearly $80,000 in restitution, for the damage he and Matt caused at the prison. Sweat shares that burden with Mitchell. Any money he makes, including a possible book or movie deal, would be used to pay off those damages.