--- description: His blood alcohol levels were more than twice the New York legal limit title: Autopsy Shows Escaped Convict Was Drunk When He Was Killed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f4a6527e76c94b8/69885991f887dc09ede9138d/richard-matt.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Autopsy Shows Escaped Convict Was Drunk When He Was Killed  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 5, 2015 9:10 PM CUT  In this handout from New York State Police, convicted murderer Richard Matt is shown. In this handout from New York State Police, convicted murderer Richard Matt is shown.Handout—Getty Images  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 5, 2015 9:10 PM CUT Richard Matt—one of two convicts who escaped a New York prison in June—was drunk when he was shot to death by authorities near the Canadian border, according to official autopsy results released Wednesday. Matt, 49, had a blood alcohol content level of 0.18\. At 0.08 blood alcohol content level, a person is considered legally drunk in New York, [NBC News reported](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/autopsy-shows-prison-escapee-richard-matt-was-drunk-when-he-n404676 "undefined"). Matt and his accomplice, David Sweat, escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, prompting a weeks-long manhunt for the convicted murderers. On June 26, Matt was found near Malone, New York, where he was shot by a U.S. Customs and Border patrol team after refusing to surrender. Sweat was shot and captured alive two days afterwards along the Canadian border. He is being held in [solitary confinement](http://time.com/3960155/david-sweat-solitary-confinement/ "undefined") at Five Points Correctional Facility in Romulus, N.Y. Other details from the autopsy indicated that Matt was shot three times in the head; his cause of death was skull fractures and brain injuries from the shots. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3986480/prison-escape-richard-matt-drunk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3986480/prison-escape-richard-matt-drunk/"},"headline":"Autopsy Shows Escaped Convict Was Drunk When He Was Killed","datePublished":"2015-08-05T21:10:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:56:13.558Z","description":"Richard Sweat's blood alcohol level was more than twice the New York legal limit","url":"https://time.com/3986480/prison-escape-richard-matt-drunk/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f4a6527e76c94b8/69885991f887dc09ede9138d/richard-matt.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f4a6527e76c94b8/69885991f887dc09ede9138d/richard-matt.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison","caption":"Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison","creditText":"Handout—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3986480/prison-escape-richard-matt-drunk/","name":"Autopsy Shows Escaped Convict Was Drunk When He Was Killed"}}]}] ```