I know this is a very old episode, about the guy (expert in Chinese foot fighting) who had a long prison stretch, but him and his partner escaped by hiding a handcuff key in his dentures?

My question is - on the 'updated story' episode, it stated something to the effect that both men were eventually caught (Gagno was pulled over on the side of a highway somewhere) and "were returned to jail and finished out their prison sentences..."

A. Didn't they have BAD rap sheets and didn't they have LONG sentences?
B. That being said, wouldn't an escape have added many years to those already long sentences?

How did they get out so quickly?

Okay, this is a very weird coincidence, considering what happened yesterday, but I Googled these two guys' names and the only info I could find was from a book written by David McGillivray, the director of the Boston Marathon!
http://books.google.ca/books?id=NLC_e1RPJx4C&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=%22jean+marie+gagnon%22+%22louis+bourgeois%22&source=bl&ots=GhCC2bdxV1&sig=HLe6IbQMnXoDDPh86lnBuWzjfZ8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=h6dtUdHDMtLj4AOo-YCYBg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22jean%20marie%20gagnon%22%20%22louis%20bourgeois%22&f=false

From what I read, McGillivray had organized a running club at Walpole Prison where Gagnon and Bourgeois were serving time, and it's believed that his marathon training indirectly gave the two criminals the stamina they needed to outrun the authorities during their escape. Anyway, according to this book, after Gagnon was re-captured, he got married to a woman he had been living with while on the run. She fought for his release and they eventually decided to deport him back to Canada, where he apparently teaches English now. But yeah, it is pretty bizarre that he'd be released after such a light sentence since they built up him as such a dangerous criminal on UM, but as far as I can tell, he's kept his nose clean since his release.

Interesting find, RobinW! I've done some google searches on these guys as well, and there is a Jean-Marie Gagnon that teaches at the University of Laval here in Canada, but I don't think it's him. However, I did find a facebook page that could very well be him!!! There is a picture, and I can't really tell if it's him, but it could be!

As far as getting out so early, maybe the prison was overpopulated, or maybe the US got sick of footing the bill to hold them and thought it would be better to just get rid of them and deport them. Sadly, there are lot of people who have committed major crimes and not done enough time. Kenneth McDuff (aka The Broomstick killer) only served ten years for rape and murder and got out and killed again! And don't even get me started on Karla Homolka....