Joyce Mitchell Pleads Guilty To Helping Inmates Matt, Sweat Escape New York Prison

Joyce Mitchell, the 51-year-old former prison employee accused of helping two inmates escape from their upstate New York prison last month, took a plea deal Tuesday in court for her involvement in the crime. She pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation, a felony and misdemeanor, respectively, the Associated Press reported. Mitchell faces a sentence between 2 1/3 and seven years.

Investigators alleged Mitchell gave convicts Richard Matt and David Sweat tools such as a chisel, hacksaw blade and screwdriver before the duo broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6. Matt and Sweat remained on the run for weeks after their escape despite a statewide police search. Matt died in a confrontation with law enforcement June 26, and Sweat was captured June 28.

Mitchell was charged and arrested shortly after the duo left the prison. As part of the deal Tuesday, she waived her right to appeal. If the judge approves the deal, she will be sentenced Sept. 28.