This time, he did not escape

F

or anyone familiar with Joseph Wesley Spring’s criminal history, which includes a notorious escape from the Hinds County, Mississippi jail in 2023, after which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, his arrest for allegedly stealing a vehicle in Jackson on Aug. 24, 2025, seemed to indicate that he was on the run again.

Spring, the subject of a series of What Happened episodes, was, at last report, serving his sentence at Mississippi’s Walnut Grove Correctional Facility. He had entered the public eye in May 2023 following his escape from the Hinds County jail, which prompted a 20-day manhunt during which he showed remarkable skill at eluding law enforcement agents. He was eventually recaptured following a high-speed police chase in Jackson. It was his third escape charge.

This time, different story: Spring had every right to be at large. He had been paroled from Walnut Grove on June 9, 2025, after having served 25 percent of his sentence for grand larceny, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and escape, according to Mississippi Department of Corrections communications director Grace Simmons. Under state statute, nonviolent offenders are eligible for parole after serving 25 percent of their sentence, which for Spring meant two years. He became eligible the day before his release, Simmons said. However, at the time of his parole Spring reportedly faced a vehicular burglary charge in Madison County. It is not clear why parole was granted with that reported charge in play.

Ultimately, Spring had only a little more than two months of freedom before he was arrested again. I found several social media posts by a family member that include pics of him enjoying his respite at home. This quick turnabout is part of a pattern in which Spring repeatedly gets crossways with the law, is arrested, pleads guilty, goes to jail, gets released and then gets crossways with the law again. Spring also has a history of being difficult to contain — in addition to his escapes he once dived into a frigid, flooded Mississippi River in an effort to evade police. This time, he did not get away.

Spring and I spoke by phone multiple times following his recapture in 2023. He said his criminal convictions began soon after he reached adulthood, and prior to that he had spent time in juvenile detention and at Hinds County’s Oakley Training School. Most of his convictions were for house burglaries, drug and weapons charges, and escape. Now, he faces a new stolen vehicle charge.

Over the weekend, the Simpson County sheriff’s office announced that a search was underway for a suspect wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle in Jackson. On Sunday, the agency announced that the suspect, Spring, had been taken into custody near Highway 43 and Bogan Ridge Road and transported to the Simpson County Adult Detention Center.

Simmons said MDOC records show that prior to his parole Spring’s tentative release date had been Dec. 5, 2032 (not July 2033, as was noted in court documents previously cited in What Happened reports).

As for what happens next, Simmons said there is normally a revocation hearing to determine whether the parolee should be allowed to remain on parole or be returned to prison. That decision is up to the Mississippi Parole Board, she said. In the meantime, Spring faces the reported Madison County charge as well as the new charge for which he was arrested in Simpson County.