Joyce Mitchell, the prison worker involed in the escape of two convicted murderers from Clinton Correctional Facility, has been charged with felony promoting prison contraband and misdemeanor criminal facilitation in connection with the escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat from Clinton County Correctional Facility on the night of June 5-6.
Court documents allege that Mitchell provided the men with hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit in the weeks prior to the escape. Mitchell, who has been charged with aiding the escapees, has admitted she smuggled hacksaw blades into the meat, the official said. Gene Palmer, the guard on the honor block where Matt and Sweat were housed, was unaware of the meat's contents when he was asked to get it to Matt, according to Palmer's attorney Andrew Brockway, who says his client was conned by Mitchell. Palmer is now on paid leave.
David sweat, 34 years old, was convicted with life imprisonment with no chance of parole for the murder of a sheriff's Deputy way back in 2002. While Richard Matt, 48 years old, was sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment for the kidnapping, dismembering, and killing of his former boss back in 1997. The convicts were last seen inside the prison on Friday, June 5, 2015. Prison guards discovered the inmates beds inside the prison were stuffed with clothes to serve as decoys for the escaped convicts in an attempt to fool the guards doing their rounds.
Though there are still things which are unclear as to how long Sweat and Matt prepared their escape from prison, or what power tools they used, or how they were able to hide the holes that they made. While the escaped convicts remain on the loose. Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly aiding Matt and Sweat with their elaborate escape.
