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Former prison tailor Joyce Mitchell, the subject of Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora, has been released on parole. Mitchell served more than four years in maximum-security prison for helping two convicted murderers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, break out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York in June 2015. According to the New York Post, Mitchell will be under state supervision until her sentence is up on June 8, 2022.
In 2015, Mitchell aided Matt and Sweat by providing the necessary tools for their escape. As a prison employee, she was able to smuggle in hacksaw blades and drill bits, which the men used to break through the walls and pipes of the facility. On June 6, 2015, Matt and Sweat finally escaped, and authorities embarked on a three-week manhunt throughout upstate New York. On June 26, Matt was shot and killed by police; two days later, Sweat was captured near the Canadian border.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to her role in the Shawshank Redemption-style escape shortly after the men went on the run. According to the New York Post, she was accused of having sex with both Matt and Sweat, but she has vehemently denied the claim. In September 2015, Mitchell was sentenced to two and a third to seven years in prison on counts of promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation.
In 2018, Showtime dramatized the escape in limited series Escape at Dannemora. Directed by Ben Stiller, the critically-acclaimed series stars Patricia Arquette as Mitchell, Benicio del Toro as Matt, and Paul Dano as Sweat. The miniseries went on to win multiple awards (and it was nominated for countless others), including a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for Arquette and a DGA Award for Stiller.
However, despite the widespread acclaim, Mitchell is no fan of Escape at Dannemora. “Ben Stiller is a son-of-a-bitch liar just like the rest of the world,” she told the New York Post in December 2018. “He doesn’t care about the truth. All he cares about is making millions off me. He’s an idiot.”
