10 Most Famous Escapees

6. Yoshie Shiratori


Yoshie Shiratori was a Japanese convict and murderer; also known as the “Jailbreak King” in Japan. During his 26-year time in prison, Shiratori escaped four times. His first offense was a murder in 1933 and his prosecutor sought for a death penalty. When serving his sentence in Aomori prison, Shiratori escaped in 1936 and soon arrested again. In Akita prison, Shiratori slowly rusted the inspection hole and his handcuff with miso soup; and escaped in 1944. He was arrested for the third time in Sapporo 1946, after injuring a man.

After being sentenced for death penalty, Shiratori escaped from Sapporo prison by digging a tunnel in 1947.

Curiously, he admitted to a police officer who gave him a cigarette that he was an escaped convict. The court revoked his death penalty to 20 years of imprisonment and this time he decided to stay, until his parole in 1961. Yoshie Shiratori became an anti-hero character in a popular novel based on his life, Hagoku.