OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Michael Rigby, the inmate whose 2010 escape from the Osceola County Jail prompted a major personnel overhaul, is seeking to leave the facility legally after he says new evidence has emerged.
Rigby, who was being held on multiple charges including attempted murder when he escaped in April 2010, was at large for roughly two months before being captured in New Jersey.
The escape triggered broad administrative action at the jail: 16 corrections officers were fired and a total of 30 employees received disciplinary measures related to the incident.
Rigby was later sentenced to 22 years in prison and is now serving the 15th year of that sentence. He has been granted a hearing Tuesday at 10 a.m., where his attorney is expected to present newly-surfaced testimony he says could undermine his conviction.
The hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a new trial or whether his sentence should be vacated.
News 6’s Osceola County community correspondent Laverne McGee spoke with Rigby by phone. Rigby expressed optimism that the newly reported testimony will lead to his release.
According to Rigby, a witness has come forward to say they lied previously about his involvement.
Rigby wrote a book called “Kingdom of Love” about his escape that sells on Amazon. That witness read it and came forward.
“He reached out to my people and told them that he wanted to set the record straight because he knew that I still thought that he had accused me of doing the robbery,” Rigby said. “He wanted to come forward and let it be known that the detectives were the ones that pointed the finger at me, and he just followed their lead.”
Describing his 2010 escape, Rigby told McGee he used a paper clip to cut a toilet and crawled through to an external area, then jumped over fences while staff were not looking.
“They didn’t know I was gone for six hours,” he said.
When asked whether he had considered escaping again, Rigby replied that he left originally because he believed he was being sent to prison for a crime he did not commit.
The upcoming hearing is expected to focus on the credibility of the recanting witness and whether the new testimony constitutes grounds for retrial or sentence relief.