20 Things You Didn't Know About Prison Break
7. The 'Dawn'ing Of Its Concept
Imagine this scenario if you will. I come up to you and say "Hey, I've got a great idea for a TV show. A guy deliberating gets himself arrested and sent to prison and he tries to escape from it". You'd question why or tell me to expand, only for me to respond "That's it. No reason why."
This is what happened to the show's creator and writer, Paul Scheuring. He was pitched this very idea by his colleague, Dawn Parouse but, rightly, found no logic in the protagonist's plan. Unless of course he had a clear motive.
Thus the idea of a man breaking out his brother to save him from the electric chair and the big government conspiracy surrounding the latter's murder charge was devised.