Prison Employee Pleads Guilty in Escape of 2 Killers
By Michael Hill ••
A New York prison worker admitted Tuesday to smuggling hacksaw blades in frozen hamburger meat to two killers who later broke out and spent more than two weeks on the run.
Joyce Mitchell, a tailor shop instructor at Clinton Correctional Facility, wept as she pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree promoting prison contraband, a felony, and misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal facilitation.
Mitchell, 51, faces a sentence of 2 1/3 years to 7 years in prison under terms of a plea deal with prosecutors. Sentencing is set for Sept. 28. Her lawyer said his client won't be able to post the bail set by the judge at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond.
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Mitchell was jailed shortly after the elaborately staged June 6 escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat. Matt was shot and killed by searchers June 26, about 30 miles west of the prison; Sweat was captured near the Canadian border two days later and sent to another prison
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Corrections officials said Tuesday that Mitchell, who was arrested June 12, resigned from her job on June 25 and remains eligible for a pension.
She admitted providing hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch tool and a screwdriver to Matt. Authorities say she became close to the pair and agreed to be their getaway driver. But she backed out at the last moment, forcing Matt and Sweat to flee on foot after they emerged from a manhole near the maximum-security prison.
David Sweat after being shot and captured.
David Sweat the moment he was captured
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Police escort ambulances from an area where law enforcement officers were searching for convicted murderer David Sweat, one of two convicted murderers who broke out of a maximum-security prison near the Canadian border, Sunday, June 28, 2015, in Constable, N.Y. Prison escapee David Sweat was shot and captured Sunday near the Canadian border, New York State police officials said.
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New York State officers search for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat, Friday, June 26, 2015, in Malone, N.Y.
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FBI agents conduct a search for convicted murderer David Sweat on June 28, 2015 near Duane, New York.
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FBI agents conduct a search for convicted murderer David Sweat on June 28, 2015 near Duane, New York.
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Correction officers search vehicles at a roadblock along Highway 30 near a wooded area where they believed escaped convict David Sweat was hiding on June 28, 2015 near Malone, New York.
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Law enforcement personnel prepare to head out on a search for the escaped convicted murderers on June 26, 2015 in Chasm Falls, New York.
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CHASM FALLS, NY - JUNE 26: Correction officers search a wooded area as the manhunt for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat continues on June 26, 2015 in Chasm Falls, New York. Matt and Sweat were discovered missing from a prison in nearby Dannemora on June 6. DNA from the two was reportedly found recently in a remote hunting cabin about 15 miles west of the prison. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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PLATTSBURGH , NY - JUNE 25: Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie addresses questions about the arrest of corrections officer Gene Palmer for his involvement in the escape of convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat on June 25, 2015 in Plattsburgh, New York. Matt and Sweat were discovered missing from a prison in nearby Dannemora, where Palmer worked, on June 6 and remain free. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A New York State Department of Corrections officer walks out of the woods as officers search the area after a possible sighting of the two murder convicts who escaped from a northern New York prison two weeks ago on June 21 in Friendship, New York. State police said a woman on Saturday reported spotting two men who resembled the convicts near a railroad line that runs along a county road.
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A New York State Department of Corrections officer pauses while searching a cornfield after a possible sighting of the two murder convicts who escaped from a northern New York prison two weeks ago on June 21, in Friendship, New York. State police said a woman on Saturday reported spotting two men who resembled the convicts prompting the search. (Credit: AP Photo/Gary Wiepert)
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Corrections officers stop a vehicle as the search for two escaped prisoners from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora continued June 22 in Owls Head, New York.
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Law enforcement officers ride in an all-terrain vehicle while searching for two prison escapees from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 23 in Malone, New York.
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Law enforcement officers on all terrain vehicles pull out of the parking lot of a restaurant as they searched for two escaped prisoners from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora continues, on June 22, in Mountain View, New York. At this point, the manhunt for two convicted murderers has jumped from a railroad line near the Pennsylvania state line to a hamlet in far northern New York not far from the prison they escaped.
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Law enforcement officers gather while searching for two prison escapees from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, on June 23, in Malone, New York.
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A corrections officer stands lookout along a road while searching for two escaped prisoners on June 22 in Bellmont, New York. Items recovered from a remote hunting cabin may have been linked to the pair of convicted killers who escaped from nearby Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
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Law enforcement officers ride in an all-terrain vehicle while searching for two prison escapees from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, on June 23, in Malone, New York.
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New York State Police troopers stand in the heavy rain at a roadblock while searching for two prison escapees from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, June 23, in Malone, New York.
Richard Matt was serving 25 years to life at Clinton Correctional Facility for the killing and dismemberment of his former boss. Matt turned 49 the day before he was fatally shot three times in the head by law enforcement.
Cara Bowman
David P. Sweat was serving a sentence of life without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy in 2002.
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Joyce Mitchell stands with her attorney Keith Bruno during her arraignment in City Court June 12, 2015 in Plattsburgh, New York. Mitchell was arrested for allegedly helping two convicted murderers, David Sweat and Richard Matt, escape the maximum security section of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
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A law enforcement agent looks through a sniper scope while another in camouflage assembles a weapon during a search for two escaped killers in Boquet, N.Y., Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
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Law enforcement officers check vehicles at a checkpoint on Monday, June 8, 2015, in Dannemora, N.Y.
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Law enforcement officers search for escaped prisoners near Essex, N.Y., Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
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Law enforcement officers walk the streets in Dannemora, N.Y., as they searched houses near the maximum-security prison in northern New York where two killers escaped using power tools, Wednesday, June 10, 2015.
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Law enforcement officers walk the streets in Dannemora, N.Y., as they searched houses near the maximum-security prison in northern New York.
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A member of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision emergency response team searches a wooded area with team members for two escapees from the Clinton Correctional Facility on Monday, June 8, 2015, in Dannemora, N.Y.
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A law enforcement officer checks a broken down building for escaped prisoners near Essex, N.Y., Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
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A law enforcement officer walks through a swampy area searching for escaped prisoners near Essex, N.Y., Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
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A member of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision emergency response team waves to a child on a school bus before the team enters the woods in search of two prisoners who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility on Monday, June 8, 2015, in Dannemora, N.Y.
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Law enforcement officers question a woman, Wednesday, June 10, 2015, who lives near the prison in Dannemora, N.Y., as they searched houses near the maximum-security prison in northern New York where two killers escaped using power tools.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo discusses the escape path where two convicted murderers fled from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, New York.
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In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, shows where two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora.
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Andrew Cuomo inspects the room where two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora
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In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, shows where two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, New York.
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In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, shows where two convicted murderers used power tools to cut through steel pipes at the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, New York.
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In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (R) is shown the manhole where two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, New York.
Law enforcement sources had said she "thought it was love" with Matt and had been investigated for a possible sexual incident with Sweat at the prison. Investigators also said Mitchell had discussed killing her husband, Lyle Mitchell, as part of the plot.
Mitchell's husband told Matt Lauer of NBC's "Today" that his wife admitted to giving the prisoners the tools, but denied having sex with either one. He said that she knew of a plot to have him killed, but she backed out because she still loved him.
A second prison worker, Gene Palmer, was also arrested in connection with the prisoners' escape. Palmer, a corrections officer, has been accused of bringing Matt and Sweat meat that Mitchell allegedly used to hide meat she smuggled to the prisoners.
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He also allegedly traded access to parts of the prison and tools for Matt's paintings, then burned and buried the artwork when he learned of the escape, authorities have said.
Palmer maintained he didn't know of the prisoners' escape plans. He was released on bail after being arrested on charges including promoting prison contraband.
Several other prison employees also faced disciplinary action following the escape, though investigators have said they do not think knowledge of the plot went beyond Matt, Sweat and Mitchell.
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Matt and Sweat cut through their adjoining cell walls over months, climbed down catwalks to tunnels, broke through a brick wall, cut into and out of a steam pipe and cut a chain holding a manhole cover outside the prison to get away, authorities said.
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