48-Year Georgia Prison Escapee Fighting To Stay Free

Robert Stackowitz, the fugitive inmate captured in Connecticut last week after escaping a Georgia prison camp 48 years ago, is free on bond.

Stackowitz, 71, was released from a Connecticut jail at about midnight Friday, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

He's been ordered back to Georgia to face charges. But he and his lawyer are fighting extradition, saying his poor health makes even traveling from state-to-state a considerable risk.

Stackowitz, who has lived in the small town of Sherman, Connecticut, for more than 30 years, says he has congestive heart failure, bladder cancer, diabetes, skin problems and leg swelling, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which met with Stackowitz and his attorney in Connecticut on Saturday.

"Why they would ever want me back, I can’t understand," he said to the paper. "I’m a medical nightmare."

U.S. Marshals arrested Stackowitz in Sherman last Monday.

He was serving a 17-year sentence for robbery by force when he escaped from the Carroll County Correctional Institution on August 22, 1968.

He had been convicted in Henry County in 1966.

Living as "Bob Gordon," Stackowitz had been running a boat repair shop out of his home in Sherman, a town of about 3,500 people.

But, according to news reports, Stackowitz used his real name when applying for social security benefits.

The Georgia Department of Corrections' Fugitive Apprehension unit reopened his case about five months ago and began an investigation which ultimately led Marshals to his location in Connecticut, the department said.

Stackowitz told the AJC he's been living crime-free since his escape.

"I don’t even think I’ve gotten a ticket," he said.

Speaking to the paper, he acknowledged his crime in Georgia, calling it the "dumbest thing I ever did in my life."

(Photos courtesy Georgia Department of Corrections)