Sol Toolmaker visited his long-time friend, I. N. Mate, a prisoner in a state institution. Mate had previously told Toolmaker how much he wanted to escape from the prison. So on this occasion, Toolmaker brought Mate two small saws.

Mate hid the saws in a place where he thought the prison guards would not find them, but the guards promptly discovered and confiscated the saws. The warden turned this evidence over to the prison’s legal counsel with a request that charges be prepared against Mate for attempting to escape from prison.

Assuming Mate intended to escape from prison, did his conduct constitute a criminal act?