On October 26, 1931, he was playing with his daughter at home. Charlele, suddenly evil fell from heaven. Several police officers with guns broke through the door and arrested him on suspicion of homicide.
Henry. Charles, born in 1906 in the French department of Ardèche, was orphaned at the age of 10. In order to make a living, he lost his parents, and he could only wander the streets, spending all day with the local hooligans and living by stealing.
In 1923, at the age of 17, Charles joined the French Navy, but accustomed to being uninhibited, it was difficult for him to adapt to the barracks. Two years later, 19-year-old Charle retired from the Navy.
After retiring from the army, Charlele tattooed a butterfly on his body, and the butterfly also has a French word "papillon", which means "breaking the cocoon into a butterfly", symbolizing freedom.
So Charlele also had a nickname, "Babylon".
Image source: Movie "Babylon"
Charlele, who did not have a skill, resumed his old business of stealing. He joined a local Parisian gang and spent his days wandering the streets of Paris for kidnapping or frequently going in and out of the homes of the rich to steal gold and silver treasures.
During this time, he made a girlfriend, and the two married and gave birth to a daughter. At this time, Charle's dream was simple, that is, to "save" enough money, go to the country with his wife and daughter to buy a big house, and live a life in peace.
But this dream was shattered at the age of 25!
Charlele never understood, he just stole something, how did he become a murderer? Despite his vigorous cry of injustice, due to the rampant criminals in Paris, France at that time, the judge showed no mercy to a habitual offender like Charlemagne, and sentenced Charlele to life imprisonment on the spot.
Charle appealed against the verdict, but the judge insisted on the verdict.
As soon as the verdict came, his wife divorced him, left him with her daughter, and Charle had nothing.
In this way, Charlele was imprisoned in caen prison in France. But he spent only a short time in Caen prison before being sent to French Guiana.
Because of the overcrowding of prisons in Paris in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the municipal government simply did not have the money to build more prisons, and had to exile most of the prisoners to French Guiana.
French Guiana is not located in Europe, but in South America.
In 1498 the Italian navigator Columbus came to the coast of French Guiana. More than 100 years later, the Dutch began to colonize the area, after which Britain, the Netherlands, France and Portugal competed with each other for this place, and it was not until 1816, when France won the victory, that it became French territory.
Although Guyana belonged to the territory of France, it was after all in South America, and at that time it belonged to the undeveloped wilderness, and the conditions were very harsh. From 1852 until 1939, France sent nearly 70,000 prisoners to French Guiana, and fewer than 17,000 returned alive, the rest either dying of exhaustion or illness.
As a result, most of those sent to Guyana are felons, because even if they die in prison, no one will be punished for it.
Almost everyone knows that as long as they are sent to Guyana, they basically have no return.
In 1933, along with other prisoners, Charle was sent to a prison in French Guiana after a long sea trip.
The prisons in French Guiana were built on three small islands: Hard Labor, Confinement and Alcatraz.
Just by listening to the names, you know that these three islands are named according to the degree of horror.
Prisoners imprisoned in the island of hard labor have to do hard labor in prison in exchange for three meals a day, similar to ordinary prisons; the island of confinement, that is, closed alone in a special cell; Alcatraz Island, because for more than a hundred years, nearly 80,000 prisoners have died here, and the prisoners who have been imprisoned in Alcatraz Do not have to do hard labor, but can only fend for themselves, and there are only wild fruits and coconuts on the island.
In order to deter prisoners, the prison stipulates that the first time you escape from prison, you must be locked up for 2 years, the second time you escape from prison is arrested, you are locked up for 5 years, and the third time you escape from prison is caught, you are sent directly to Alcatraz Prison.
Moreover, these three islands are surrounded by seawater on all sides, and they are monitored by gun guards 24 hours a day, so it is a fantasy to escape from prison.
But these difficulties did not deter Charlele, for he was convinced that he had not killed anyone and that he must regain his freedom to wash himself away his grievances. So from the day he went to jail, Charlele made up his mind: I'm going to get out of jail.
From then on, Henry. Charle began his 9-year prison break.
The first escape from prison was shortly after being imprisoned on The Island of Hard Labor.
Before he was exiled, he secretly hid a few thousand francs on his body. He paid 500 francs for a prison guard, and another 2,500 francs for the prison guard to help him build a boat.
On November 29, 1933, while out on a hard labor trip, Charle took two other prisoners and climbed out of the window of the infirmary on the pretext of going to the toilet, sneaked to the shore, and boarded a small boat that had been hidden in advance.
Although they had worked hard, escaped the fierce winds and waves of the sea, and suffered from the hunger brought about by the lack of food, they successfully reached Colombia, but this escape ended in failure. Because the local police had already received news from French Guiana, as soon as they landed, they were arrested by the local police, temporarily received the Columbine Prison, and then arranged to repatriate the 3 people to the island of hard labor.
Charle knew that once he was repatriated, he would be doubly punished if he lost his freedom again.
When arrested by the local police, Charlele was ready for a second escape. Taking advantage of the police's lack of attention, he secretly hid a wire from the ship when he went ashore.
That night, it suddenly started to rain in Colombia, which was really god-help Charlie. Taking advantage of the inattention of the prison guards, he took out the key to open the cell with a wire and successfully escaped from the Colombian prison under the cover of torrential rain.
He fled overnight to an indigenous village on the Colombian border, where he met and fell in love with a pair of sisters, who married him at the same time and bore him children.
At first, this stable life made Charle feel very happy, but over time, this stability made him feel panicked. He asked himself: Am I going to stay in this primitive village all my life, living a life without hope day after day?
Obviously, Charlele, who grew up in modern civilization, has not forgotten the prosperity of Paris, nor has he forgotten the more free and free sky outside.
So he left his two wives and ran away!
Sadly, as soon as he left the village, he was caught by the police. It is no wonder that a white-skinned European, found in a chocolate-skinned South American country, is difficult not to be discovered.
In this way, Charlele was repatriated to French Guiana, this time in a separate small cell on the island. The cell was surrounded by high walls, airtight and sunlight, with only a small window for delivering food.
But the so-called rice is a little water and vegetable beans every day, so that you can't eat enough and starve to death.
There is no one here who can talk to you, living in such a place, normal people even if they do not starve to death, it is estimated that they will go crazy.
Charle, who longed for freedom, naturally did not want to die like this, he was still young, and he had to wash away his grievances. In the five years since, Charlele has planned five more escapes, but has been arrested each time. Once, he was almost on the verge of success, but was betrayed by a local nun and arrested again.
After tossing and turning like this a few times, the prison authorities naturally would not let him feel better, and directly threw him to the most terrifying Alcatraz Island, leaving him to fend for himself. Alcatraz Island is about the size of 3 football fields and has about 50 prisoners in it.
The prison authorities are very relieved about this place, because the sea around Alcatraz Island is full of cliffs and cliffs, and sharks often appear nearby, so it is a fool's dream to escape from here.
Charlie should be honest now, right?
In the beginning, Charlele was indeed a lot more honest. Although Alcatraz Island is a hell on earth for ordinary people, it is a paradise on earth for prisoners.
Because Alcatraz has never had a record of successful escapes, the prison authorities are relieved and only send three guards to watch here, so there are few cases of prison guards abusing prisoners.
Moreover, Alcatraz Island has no walls, only a patch of coconut trees and stone houses, where prisoners can move freely, and the only drawback here is the lack of materials, similar to desert islands.
But Charle thought of his whole life, he was going to fend for himself here, what is the meaning of life? I definitely can't just die here, even if I want to die, I can't die so quietly!
So he began planning his 8th escape.
This time, he found a companion named Degas, who had been a banker.
To leave Alcatraz, you must have a boat. But there is nothing on the island, and the only material that can be used is coconut shells. Charlele began collecting coconut shells on the island, and when the shells were dried, they were put into a sack and turned into an improvised lifeboat.
Since the tools for escape are so rudimentary, it is obviously difficult to cross the sea smoothly, and it is possible to use the waves. Charlele bids his time while observing the waves.
Soon, he discovered a pattern, the sea around Alcatraz Island, every six hours after the waves, will be followed by a big wave, and this big wave, should be able to push his coconut boat to the shore.
On August 23, 1943, Charle and Degas prepared some dry food (made from the pulp of a coconut tree) and a few coconuts, and when the sixth wave was about to come, the two jumped off a cliff several meters high and climbed into the coconut boat prepared in advance.
After a while, a huge wave rushed like a wall, crashing into the cliff with a thunderous momentum, and a huge impulse sprayed the coconut boat out, pushing them out of at least 300 meters. In this way, with the help of the power of the waves, they drifted at sea for three days.
Needless to say, they knew how difficult it was, but fortunately, they didn't even meet a shark.
Finally, after four days and three nights, they saw land. But less than 500 meters from the land, Degas was so excited that he jumped directly into the sea.
What he didn't know was that underneath the seemingly shallow seawater was a patch of silt, with a layer of hard mud on the surface and a soft mud underneath, which would sink in as soon as he stepped on it. Charlele could only watch as his companions were engulfed in mud.
Charle endured the grief and paddled to the shore with the help of a raft.
The moment he reached the land, Charlele couldn't help but smile bitterly, and of all the escapes he planned, all the meticulous and rigorous ones failed, and the most rudimentary and ridiculous ones were the most successful.
Yeah, who would have thought that he would dare to escape from prison with a bag of coconut shells and succeed!
Charle couldn't understand whether God was fooling him or helping him, but at least for this moment, he was thanking God.
Learning from the experience of his previous prison escape, Charlele did not stop long after this landing and fled all the way to a small mountain village in Venezuela.
Fortunately, the villagers here are very simple and kind, knowing that Charlele may be a fugitive, still treat his wounds and distribute him with little food.
But in the end, Charle was arrested by the Venezuelan police for illegal entry, but the Venezuelan police did not deport him to Alcatraz Island, but put him in a Venezuelan prison.
A year later, in 1945, the revolution swept through Venezuela, the old party was overthrown, the police chief was deposed, and Charlele ushered in the dawn of his release.
The new director not only released him, but also issued him a Venezuelan identity card, allowing Charlele to legally reside in Venezuela. The premise is that he must be a person who contributes to society.
Charlele, who got the news, was so excited that night that she couldn't sleep.
He recalled his more than 10 years of imprisonment, although he was wrongfully imprisoned, in order to clear his grievances, he escaped from prison again and again, and even jumped into the sea regardless of the danger of his life. But the fly did not sting the seamless egg, and if it were not for the fact that he was a habitual thief, he would not have been wronged, and he decided to follow the words of the new director and become a man again.
In October 1945, at the age of 39, Charlele finally regained his freedom after 13 years in prison!
He settled in Venezuela, married a local woman and had children, then opened a restaurant, oil exploration, and a jewelry business, and soon became a millionaire.
In 1969, with the encouragement of his wife, Charlele wrote a memoir of his experiences, called "Babylon". To his surprise, the memoir became a bestseller of the year, selling more than 1.5 million copies in five months.
Soon, Charle's experience attracted a great deal of attention in France, and was known as the "originator of the French prison break".
In 1970, France finally declared Charlele innocent and able to return home. From 1932 to 1970, Charlele spent 38 years washing away his grievances.
In 1973, the famous American director Franklin Sfana adapted the film of the same name from Babylon and was nominated for Best Score at the 46th Academy Awards in 1974 and for Best Actor at the 31st Golden Globe Awards.