‘Devil in the Ozarks’ accepts plea deal over Arkansas prison escape, sentenced to 13 years

A convicted murderer and rapist known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” who escaped an Arkansas prison last year pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his flight and was sentenced to 13 years in prison Tuesday after accepting a deal with prosecutors.

Grant Hardin’s escape captivated Americans after the former police chief walked out last May of the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ North Central Unit, now known as the Benny Magness Unit.

The guard who controlled the gates from a tower didn’t check for identification before allowing Hardin, who wore clothes he’d dyed using markers to look like a prison guard uniform, to leave.

His escape from the prison , which is located 5 miles north of Calico Rock in a rugged and remote area of the Ozarks, prompted an extensive manhunt involving local, state and federal law enforcement. Searchers combed the area around the prison for nearly two weeks before Hardin was found roughly two miles away.

The second degree escape charge carried a recommended sentence of five to 20 years. Hardin, who gained the nickname “Devil in the Ozarks” thanks to a documentary about his crimes, accepted a deal with prosecutors who recommended a 13-year sentence.

The new sentence will run consecutively with the 57-year-old’s existing sentences. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison plus 10 on probation in 2017 for the murder of James Appleton earlier that year. He was later sentenced to 50 years in 2019 on two counts of rape after his DNA came back as a match in a 20-year-old cold case.

Both sentences came after Hardin accepted plea deals with prosecutors. He isn’t eligible for parole until 2054, according to the Department of Corrections’ inmate search tool.

Hardin’s escape on May 25, 2025 quickly ballooned into a national story and came at a time when Arkansas’ prison agency was already under increased scrutiny by lawmakers thanks to the Franklin County prison project and the Board of Corrections’ lawsuit against Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

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Prison officials blamed staff complacency for the lapses and policy violations that allowed Hardin to leave, including allowing Hardin to be unsupervised on a kitchen dock. Hardin held a job in the prison kitchen. Two employees at the prison for fired for procedure violations that officials said led to the escape.

Prison officials have also cited an automated inmate classification system that incorrectly identified him as a medium-risk prisoner for several years. The error allowed him to remain at the Calico Rock prison instead of a more secure facility, officials said.

“He should not have been there,” Arkansas Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne said at an August hearing.

But lawmakers seemed incredulous of the department’s explanations during three legislative meetings last year.

“It sounds like everyone was confused out there that day. And that comes down to the leadership of the warden…So this isn’t just about two employees,” Republican Sen. Matt McKee of Pearcy said at a September hearing. “This is a failure systemically because we didn’t have the training, we didn’t have the policies worked out.”