New York prison escapee David Sweat pleads not guilty on breakout charges

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A convicted killer who escaped from a maximum-security prison in northern New York has been arraigned on criminal charges stemming from the breakout.

A judge entered a not-guilty plea for David Sweat at his arraignment Thursday in Plattsburgh, New York, on two felony counts of first-degree escape, and a charge of promoting prison contraband.

Sweat escaped June 6 from Clinton Correctional Facility with fellow inmate Richard Matt. Matt was shot dead June 26, and Sweat was shot and captured two days later.

The prisoners used power tools to saw through steel cell walls and steam pipes to reach a manhole outside the prison.

The 35-year-old Sweat is already serving life without parole for the killing of a sheriff's deputy.

Sweat was hospitalized after his capture and then sent to a different prison.