Peanut butter. It's a vital ingredient in Reese's Cups, a home remedy for hiccups, amongst the best concoction when paired with jelly and bread, and in Walker County, Ala., an effective means of conning a new prison guard into letting the incarcerated escape.

As I originally read about this creative, albeit unsophisticated, jailbreak I wondered how much thought the prisoners put into escaping or if it was just a whim.

It turns out their escape was premeditated with Walker County Sheriff Jim Underwood commenting that their plan was “well laid out.” No matter the thought process or amount of time put into planning that led to the security breach, on July 30th a dozen convicts found their way out.

So how exactly did these wannabe criminal masterminds escape using peanut butter?

Their first tactic consisted of scouting guards and the decision to take advantage of a new prison guard's naiveté. The prisoners then used peanut butter to alter the number on the door leading outside to make it appear to be a cell door.

Once outside, the prisoners took to using blankets and uniforms in an effort to safely scale the barb-wire fence.

Their plan was temporarily successful and they escaped but not without incident as some prisoners injured themselves on the way up and down the fence. The dozen convicts' unorthodox escape was thwarted in less than seventy-two hours.

The first eleven escapees were caught within twelve hours of escaping with only one prisoner, Brady Kilpatrick, managing to flee the state. Kilpatrick was apprehended in Tequesta, Florida.

Jim Underwood boiled the mistake down to "human error" and the fact that the prisoners were "crazy like a fox."

A comparison that might be correct in light of the convicts' sly nature in the execution of their plan. An article from the Washington Postsuggests that the jail-breakers "will face additional charges."

Interestingly, not all of the convicts tried to pull off their escape solo, as the Walker County Sheriff's Office revealed that Hayden Mayberry and Jensen Davis Lefan are now facing charges for Facilitating Escape, Hindering Apprehension of Escape, and charges in Florida for Aiding and Abetting a Fugitive.

The sticky situation the Walker County Prison found themselves in is thankfully an occurrence of the past. The quick action of the Walker County Sheriff's Office in cooperation with other departments throughout Alabama and Florida were commendable in the successful, timely, recovery of these convicts.

It is safe to assume that the prison guards will be more vigilant in recognizing the people they are dealing with and some convicts' use of underhanded tactics. It is also safe to assume for a while, at least in the Walker County Jail, that PB&J is a thing of the past.