New York State offers $100,000 reward for capture of escaped prisoners

New York State is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and arrest of Richard Matt and David Sweat, the two convicted murderers who escaped from an upstate maximum security prison, ABC News quoted Gov. Andrew Cuomo as saying on Sunday.

The governor called the offer of $50,000 for each prisoner an unusual step for the state, but said "it is appropriate."

"These are dangerous men," Cuomo said, adding that they are "capable of committing grave crimes once again."

More than 150 leads have been developed so far, Major Charles Guess of the New York State Police said today, and Cuomo urged any New Yorkers with information to come forward.

Matt and Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border, on Saturday morning.

Sweat, 34, is serving a life sentence after he was convicted of killing a Broome County sheriff's deputy in 2002. Matt, 48, is serving 25 years to life in prison after he kidnapped and beat a man to death in 1997.