Steve Russell was a prisoner in Texas Prison. He was sentenced to 144 years in prison for repeatedly breaking out of prison. In 1992, Russell was imprisoned for insurance fraud. He met a prisoner named Philip Morris in prison and fell in love. He escaped from several different Texas prisons 4 times in 5 years, because every time He would go to Morris when he went out, so he was soon taken back to prison. Not long ago Russell's story was adapted into the movie "I Love You, Philip Morris" (video).
Steve Russell was sitting on the other side of the bulletproof glass screen, and the real Steve had a strange smile on his face. He was wearing a white jumpsuit with a red piece on his collar, which looked like ketchup. Interestingly, he talked about the terrible prison food as soon as he spoke. "Hot dogs, hamburgers, pork," he smiled, "everything is made of pork." His optimism seems to be the opposite of his current situation. He was sentenced to 144 years in prison for multiple crimes such as jailbreaking and deception, and now he has only served 9 years in prison. Russell is the most notorious and most closely guarded prisoner. His skin was pale and swollen because he was kept in a single room for 23 hours, almost isolated from the world. A few months ago, when passing by an ordinary cell, a prisoner shook his hand. This was the first time he had had physical contact with a person in the past 10 years.
Although in a boundless prison, Russell believes that the theme of his life story is definitely not crime and punishment. When asked why he was kept here by himself. He replied, because he was a fool in love. "This is a love story," he said, lightly teasing like a TV host. "It's about what a person can do for love. Love will make a person blind, so that he can only see the trees but not the forest." He showed a strange smile again, and a drop of water appeared under his right eye, which he quickly wiped off with his cuff.
Steve Russell has many names. As far as people know, he has used 14 pseudonyms, pretending to be a judge, a doctor, an FBI agent, and a law student. He got the nicknames "Houdini" (a magician who is good at escape) and "King Kong" because he is good at escape from prison. In 1992, he was imprisoned for insurance fraud. In the following five years, he escaped from several different Texas prisons four times. His story was adapted into a movie, starring Kim Carey. In January, it won unanimous praise at the Sundance Independent Film Festival. It is considered a humorous tragedy, reminiscent of another 2002 film based on the live-action story of the scam genius Frank Abanel. Game (Catch me if you can). Like Abanel, who pretended to be a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, to defraud millions of dollars, Russell's life story is like a fantasy novel. His escape tactics were bold and unexpected, which shocked law enforcement officials. But unlike Abanel, Russell’s criminal motive was his love for another man named Philip Morris. The two met in prison in 1995 (the escape always occurs on Friday the 13th, which is also Morris' birthday).
"It was love at first sight," Russell said. "I thought it was impossible to know that we were in prison! He spoke with a southern accent and his voice was very gentle. I saw him in the library and wanted to take it. A book on the shelf. He is not tall, only 5 feet 2 inches. And I am 6 feet 2 inches tall, and I said,'Wait, let me help you.' That's it." I asked Russell to describe to me The man who made him fall in love and couldn't help himself. "He is very smart and likes fishing and driving. He also likes music." What type? "Classical music. Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. His character is a bit confused. He has diabetes, but he buys 12 donuts and eats them at once."
Russell and Morris (who were jailed for failing to return the rental car) were both released on parole in 1995. They lived in Houston, and Russell began to look for money everywhere, squandering his lover. He persuaded a medical insurance company to hire him as its chief financial officer based on a false and exaggerated resume. He embezzled $800,000 to pay for the extravagant lives of him and Morris. They bought a Mercedes-Benz, a motor boat, and two identical Rolex watches. Russell also corrected his teeth and underwent eye plastic surgery. In the end, his crimes were exposed and he was about to be sent back to prison. At this time, he pretended to be a judge and called to request that his bail be reduced from 900,000 US dollars to 45,000 US dollars. After returning to prison, he had only one strong motive to escape again and again-to be with Morris.
Perhaps because of this, the film based on Russell's story is called "I Love You Philip Morris" (Morris is played by Ivan McGregor). This film has been rejected by many American distributors because of the homosexual theme. It was eventually bought by the Comprehensive Film Group in May and is scheduled to be released in the United States on Valentine's Day next year. "I think this is a very good subject," Russell admitted. "I did it because I missed Morris. I have lost my mind." Crazy love caused a fatal loophole in his escape plan. He always went to Morris every time he managed to escape from prison successfully. The police just need to wait and see. Morris has now moved to Arkansas. Russell has never seen him since the last time he was caught. Does he still love him? "I didn't fall in love with anyone anyway," he said, shrugging, "I miss him very much. But I have become realistic too. I don't want to do anything to hurt him anymore. Anything I can do now can cause him trouble. I can’t be with him. They (law enforcement) will never allow this to happen.”
Russell is 52 years old, talkative and witty. He claims that he has an IQ of 163 and spends most of his free time reading newspapers and magazines. "My cell is piled so high." He gestured a few feet from the floor with his hand. "I read Niunue Times, Huae Street Journal, Science Meiguo, National Geographic, and The Economist. If you don't use it frequently, your head will degenerate."
His voice also had a southern accent, and his laughter was sharper and looked ordinary: bald head, broad shoulders, and slightly fat. The only thing that stands out is the delicate teeth. This unrememberable appearance is Russell's greatest advantage. He seems to have a kind of chameleon talent that can be transformed into any image without attracting attention. Houston journalist Steve McVick wrote his story as a biography, and the film was adapted on the basis of this book. McVick became friends with Russell during the interview. He said, “He has many different voices. When the police take pictures of him, he always poses with a different expression.”
Russell never used to escape from prison . Violent, but absolutely creative. He always said, "To be precise, they opened the door to let me out." On two occasions, he swaggered out of the front door of the prison. In 1993, Russell, who was imprisoned for pretending to have a back injury to fraudulently obtain insurance money, spent his days in the Houston jail, and finally thought of a way to escape. He stole a pair of women’s black pants and an intercom from the prison infirmary, dressed as a temporary prison worker. "I used the walkie-talkie to ask the gate guard to open the door for me, and the guy did open it." He explained. Isn't he scared? "No. Even if you are afraid, don't show it. You have to pretend to be righteous."
Three years later, he collected a bunch of green felt-tip pens from the prison art classroom, squeezed the ink into the sink, and dyed the prison clothes. The color of the surgeon’s uniform. "Be very careful when dyeing, don't squeeze, otherwise it will leave streaks on the clothes." He explained the technical details calmly. Under the doctor's uniform, he wrapped his body airtight in a few large garbage bags so that the police dogs who were tracking could not smell him. So he swaggered out of the prison gate wearing a self-made surgical gown. Russell knocked on the door of the house closest to the prison, claiming to be a doctor whose car broke down, and needed a ride back to the city urgently. The stranger completely believed his lie. "When the prison helicopter was dispatched, I was already drinking tequila in a bar in Houston."
However, his happy life is not long. Less than a year later, he was sent back to prison. This time, he planned the boldest escape plan. In 1998, he had been disguising AIDS symptoms for 10 months. He hardly eats, and in order to pretend to be weak and weak, he also takes a lot of laxatives. He wrote a false health report using the typewriter in the prison library, and sent it to the relevant department through the internal mail system to add to his medical file. Surprisingly, Russell's performance was very successful. The prison sent him to a nursing home without even being tested for HIV. There, he pretended to be his doctor to call the parole officer and was allowed to participate in a new drug experiment that did not exist. A few weeks later, the fake doctor called the prison to inform them that Russell had passed away unfortunately.
In fact, the alive Russell embarked on a journey again to meet his Philip Morris. "The escape was the most difficult," Russell said. "I had to force myself to lose weight and read a lot of books about AIDS symptoms. Anyway, I did everything I could think of. My ideas came from learning. I watched my surroundings. Look for the weak link."
He said that he was able to play people of different professions in a fake and real way, because every time he sounded like an expert with a mouthful of terminology. "Most of the time it was made up by me, it was completely nonsense." I asked him to perform. He immediately changed into a low, bored voice and said, "I am the judge at the Steve Russell bail hearing this morning. I don't have a printer here, but the lawsuit form should indicate that his bail has been lowered. ." He grinned and said, "It's kind of like acting."
No one knows exactly what Russell is. He has so many aliases and just as many faces. During the six months of collecting writing materials, Steve McVick visited Russell every Saturday. "He is a natural liar, but he is very funny and charming." McVick said, "If he can get out of prison, I can imagine having dinner with him."
Terry Cobbs, the police officer who chased Russell and fled twice, said, "He is a big guy, arrogant and conceited, and he likes to be noticed. He has a double personality: facing strangers, people who don’t understand his essence, He is confident and persuasive. For those who know him, he is like a discouraged ball. His voice will tremble and become a timid man."
Kim Carrey, who plays Russell in the film, sees Now, the truth is not complicated: “The important thing is that he (Russell) wants to be loved, and he has the feeling of being deprived of the right throughout his life. When I mentioned this point, Russell politely refuted it. This hypothesis. But inferred from his upbringing background, it is true. In 1957, Russell was adopted by others by his biological mother. She had just divorced from his biological father and did not want to raise children alone. Russell later found her own. My mother found out that she and her father had remarried long ago and had three more children. "I feel abandoned. "He said.
His adoptive parents, Brenda and Thomas, were quite conservative, and they ran a handful of food production companies in Virginia. Russell later married and had a daughter, Stephanie. In the 1970s In the end, Russell was still a law-abiding citizen, playing the pipe organ for the local church on weekends. Ironically, he also volunteered to serve as the local deputy police chief. In 1985, the death of his adoptive father caused his personal crisis. Er abandoned his wife and 12-year-old daughter, ran away from home, went to Houston, and started living as a gay. Three years later he moved to Los Angeles.
"People will say that my marriage is a'false marriage', but I don't think it is a fake marriage . " Yes, women are also attractive to me, but men are more attractive. "He said. It was his sexual orientation that indirectly pushed him on the road to crime. When he was a sales manager at a food company in Los Angeles, he was found out by his boss as gay and was fired. From then on he became cynical. "Lost his job." Later, my mind was completely confused," he said, "my life started to get out of control. "Soon, he was arrested for indecent behavior and the use of a fake passport. In 1992, he was eventually imprisoned for pretending to be a back injury to defraud insurance money.
Looking back, does he regret it? "Yes," he finally said after a long silence, "I deprived my daughter of the opportunity to see me (Stephanie still occasionally visits Russell in prison). Back then, I was a completely different person." He said He has accepted his fate and lives in prison. He said that planning to escape was too tiring. If time could go back, would he still make the same choice? "If I come back and lose my job, I will not complain about others, but will find another one. At the time, I was at a loss because I was too angry. Now I am no longer angry."
The news that the film is about to be released told him Became a celebrity in prison. Occasionally, prisoners and guards asked him for autographs. Although he couldn't see the film yet, he managed to download some clips from Google. The precise interpretation of Kerry and McGregor surprised him. Kerry and Russell have never met, but he has heard recordings made by Russell and Morris as consultants for the production crew. "They caught it," Russell said. "The way we speak, our style of clothing-everything, I can't believe it."
Although Russell said he had accepted his fate, few people believed him. McVick said he wouldn't be surprised if he showed up outside his house tomorrow. "He is a persistent person. The Steve I know will still keep in touch with Philip Morris." Terry Cobbs said. "His little head is always turning."
Lasse Er told me that he was "very happy" in prison, but he ended the sentence with a sad tone. The drooping corners of his eyes also showed that the opposite was true. If he really plans to escape, it must be some Friday the 13th. When is the next time two dates collide? "November." He answered without hesitation.
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