Joyce Mitchell, Ex-New York Prison Worker, Pleads Guilty to Aiding Killers’ Escape 
~!~ A former prison employee pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that she helped two convicted killers stage a dramatic escape from a maximum-security prison in June in northern New York, closing one chapter of a drama that involved hundreds of law enforcement officers and spread fear across parts of the state//(ukcanadaus)
~!~ A former prison employee pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that she helped two convicted killers stage a dramatic escape from a maximum-security prison in June in northern New York, closing one chapter of a drama that involved hundreds of law enforcement officers and spread fear across parts of the state//(ukcanadaus)
~!~ Dabbing tears from her eyes, the former employee, Joyce E. Mitchell, 51, pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband in the first degree, a felony, and criminal facilitation in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor// In doing so, she acknowledged playing a central role in an escape that peeled back a culture of loose dealings between prison workers and inmates at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., and proved an embarrassment for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision//Ms. Mitchell was charged with providing the inmates, David Sweat, 35, and Richard W. Matt, 49, with tools that aided in their escape, including hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit// She brought some of the tools into the prison concealed in a slab of frozen ground beef//(ukcanadaus)
~!~ The Clinton County district attorney, Andrew J. Wylie, said at the court appearance that under the terms of the plea agreement, Ms// Mitchell would be given a sentence from two and one-third years to seven years and required to pay a $6,000 fine// She will be sentenced at another court appearance in September// Ms.Mitchell has also agreed to cooperate with a continuing review of the corrections agency*s policies and procedures by the state inspector general*s office, and forfeited a teaching certificate//
~!~ Mitchell, wearing black-and-white prison garb, seemed meek in court and nodded yes as Judge Kevin K.Ryan of Superior Court reviewed the terms of the deal//
~!~ The state inspector general, Catherine Leahy Scott, said in a statement, **Today*s plea by Joyce Mitchell makes clear her culpability in the systemic breakdown that led to the escape of two coldblooded killers//**(ukcanadaus)