Mental Health & Inmate Escape at PRC

May 11, 2025

FAFO Media

Lycoming Pre-Release Center (PRC). Art depicting the aftermath of the escape of inmate “Buck”, an abused mentally ill inmate.

In the winter of 2022, an inmate managed to escape from the Lycoming Pre-Release Center (PRC). FAFO Media had interviewed this individual about a month before his escape and learned that he was homeless. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Before being committed to the Lycoming County Prison, he was receiving mental health medications from the Lycoming County Joinder, and upon entering the prison, he presented paper prescriptions for his medications. However, he went over three months without receiving any medication for his condition.

On the day of his escape, he had less than 30 days remaining in his sentence. Now, he is serving a sentence in a state prison due to his escape. The Lycoming Prison has not taken responsibility for the neglect he experienced but was swift to punish him for his escape.

A notable recollection is another inmate’s art that depicts the view from bed 24D. During the investigation following his escape, the inmate population was on lockdown for several hours. The escaping inmate propped up a bench to use as a ladder to get on the roof. Footprints could be seen through the window in the snow on the roof above the PRC kitchen, marking the path of a mistreated individual who clearly had enough of the County’s shit.