Shivangi Sinha
Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell was a prison worker who gained notoriety for her involvement in the 2015 escape of two inmates from the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York. She assisted Richard Matt and David Sweat in their escape by smuggling tools into the prison, leading to a massive manhunt. Showtime’s 2018 miniseries ‘Escape at Dannemora’ chronicles a story that is similar to Joyce Mitchell’s. It delves into the entanglement of a prison employee with two criminals and the consequences of her involvement in their escape plan. Though it is a fictional endeavor, it draws a lot from the reality of the situation and has been greatly appreciated over the years.
Joyce Mitchell Met Sweat and Matt While Working as a Seamstress
Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell graduated from high school in Bombay, New York, and soon after began working at the Tru-Stitch Slipper Factory, where both her aunt and mother were employed. By the early 1980s, she was working as a stitcher. At the time, she was married to her first husband, Tobey Premo, with whom she had a son named Tobey Jr. Known for being friendly and popular among her coworkers, things changed when she met Lyle Mitchell, another well-liked worker at the factory. Joyce had a strong interest in Lyle, who was married and had two daughters at the time.
Rumors of an affair between Joyce and Lyle began circulating in the factory, which ultimately led to the breakdown of her marriage with Premo. While the latter was devastated, Joyce saw a future with Lyle and pursued it. She divorced Premo in 1995 and soon after married Lyle. By 2008, the couple had secured jobs at the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Joyce initially worked as an industrial training administrator, and in 2013, she transitioned into the role of a seamstress at the facility.
It was while working in this role that she came across two inmates, David Sweat and Richard Matt. They were both serving time for serious crimes. Reports suggest that she developed an inappropriate sexual relationship with both of them. It later became known that both of them had used their manipulative tactics to charm and seduce Mitchell into helping them plan their escape. Therefore, in early 2015, when they asked for her help, she did not refuse.
Joyce Mitchell Planned to Run Away With the Convicts to Mexico
Joyce Mitchell smuggled tools and materials into the facility, including hacksaw blades, chisels, and other items hidden in frozen meat. She also directly handed over six knives to Richard Matt and collected pistols, ammunition, camping gear, and a compass. These helped David Sweat and Matt to cut through the steel walls and pipes within the prison, allowing them to create a secret escape route to reach a manhole on the street. The plan was for Joyce to meet them in a getaway car, possibly hurt her husband, and then run away with them to Mexico.
However, when it was time to follow through, Joyce panicked. On the evening of June 5, 2015, she went to have dinner with her husband. She was supposed to meet the two convicts a few hours later on June 6, but she started having chest pains and started hyperventilating. She was taken to the hospital, and she never met Sweat and Matt as they illegally made their way out of incarceration. It was not long after that the authorities zeroed down on Joyce. She was arrested on June 12, 2015.
Joyce Mitchell was charged with promoting prison contraband in the first degree and criminal facilitation in the fourth degree. She pled guilty to these charges. During her court appearances, she admitted to being aware of the escape plan devised by Sweat and Matt. She also confessed that the two had given her pills intended to incapacitate her husband, making it easier for them to kill him. In early September 2015, Mitchell was sentenced to 2⅓ to 7 years in prison. In addition to her sentence, she was ordered to pay over $80,000 in restitution and more than $6,000 in fines.
Joyce Mitchell Claimed That She Helped the Convicts Out of Fear Not Love
Following her sentencing, Joyce Mitchell gave an interview where she claimed her actions were driven by fear for her own safety. She explained that at the time she began interacting with David Sweat and Richard Matt, she was suffering from depression, and the two convicts took advantage of her emotional vulnerability. She was an ideal inmate while she was incarcerated. She kept to herself and was diligent in her daily activities. She applied for parole in February and August of 2017, but it was denied both times.
In 2018, Joyce Mitchell gave another interview, this time criticizing the series ‘Escape at Dannemora’ and its creators. She claimed the portrayal of a sexual relationship between the prison worker and the inmate in the show was entirely false, stating that she was never involved with the man in that way. However, she did admit to giving nude photos to Sweat and said she was coerced into a sexual encounter with Matt, but nothing beyond that. Mitchell also expressed that she did not recall telling authorities she had fantasized about a life with the two men. Additionally, she voiced frustration over Correction Officer Gene Palmer’s lenient sentence, alleging that Matt had a closer relationship with Palmer.
Joyce Mitchell’s Family Means Everything to Her Today
In June 2019, Joyce Mitchell applied for parole for the third time, but her request was denied. While incarcerated, she maintained good behavior and received consistent support from her husband, Lyle Mitchell, who visited her regularly and openly expressed his love for her. On February 6, 2020, Joyce was released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County, New York. She was allowed to live under supervision at her family home, which she shared with Lyle, until June 2022. Since completing her sentence, Joyce has remained at their home in Dickinson Center, New York, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
In April 2024, Joyce Mitchell celebrated her 23rd wedding anniversary with her husband, Lyle Mitchell, expressing gratitude for his unwavering love and support throughout the years. Reflecting on their journey together, she admired how Lyle had grown from a young man into a devoted father and grandfather, sharing how proud she was of the family they had become. As a grandmother to her son Tobey Jr.’s daughter, Sophia, and having embraced Lyle’s two daughters as her own, Joyce values the time they all spend together. She does not miss a chance to celebrate her sons and daughters and has expressed her love for her father many times. It appears that she is gradually reclaiming a sense of normalcy in her life and plans to spend her years in peace.
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