MALONE, N.Y. – Law officers were justified in shooting to death one killer and wounding another who had escaped from a maximum security prison in northern New York five months ago, a prosecutor’s report released Thursday concluded.

Glenn MacNeill, acting district attorney for Franklin County, determined the death of Richard Matt by a bullet to his head, and the capture of David Sweat with two shots to his stomach, resulted from concern the escapees were armed and extremely dangerous.

Matt, 49, and Sweat, 35, escaped from the state prison at Dannemora near the Canadian border on June 6 through makeshift holes in their cell walls, climbing down catwalks and cutting into and out of a steam pipe that led to a manhole outside the facility. Both were serving life terms for murder.

They were the subjects of an intensive manhunt for three weeks, eluding bloodhounds and armies of law officers scouring the thick-wooded countryside on foot and in the air.

Border patrol officers found Matt trying to hide in underbrush near a remote cabin June 26. The DA’s report said he ignored commands to show his hands and instead pointed a shotgun at agent Christopher Voss, who “properly employed deadly force” and shot Matt in the head.

“The inmate was lying against a log on the ground,” the report said. “He was directed several times to show his hands. Instead obeying those commands, he pointed a weapon.”  Matt was serving 25 years to life for killing his former boss.

State Police Sgt. Jay Cook captured Sweat two days later while patrolling a country road near the Canadian border. Cook shot Sweat twice in the abdomen as Sweat shed his backpack, sprinted for the woods several yards away, and ignored commands to stop running.

“Cook fired once, hitting Sweat who stumbled, but continued to move forward,” the DA’s report said. “Cook fired a second time, hitting Sweat again, who fell to the ground.”

He was hospitalized for treatment of his wounds for several days, then returned to another maximum security prison. He was serving a life without parole sentence for killing a deputy sheriff, and now faces additional charges of escape and possessing prison contraband, specifically hacksaw blades.

The district attorney said the convicts were “given the opportunity to surrender before law enforcement utilized the force that they were justified in using.”

Details for this story were provided by the Plattsburgh, New York, Press-Republican