PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (AP) - A prison worker who was "in over her head" with two inmates convicted of murder tearfully pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of aiding them by smuggling hacksaw blades and other tools to the pair, who broke out and spent three weeks on the run.
Joyce Mitchell, an instructor in the tailor shop at the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, wore shackles and prison stripes as she entered the pleas in a barely audible voice.
Afterward, her lawyer, Stephen Johnston, said she realizes she made a "horrible mistake" by getting involved with Richard Matt and David Sweat, who staged an elaborate escape from the maximum-security prison on June 6.
"She got in over her head into something that she never should have started. But she did, and she's paying the price now," Johnston told reporters outside court. "I think that to a certain extent, Matt got her to feeling good about herself, better than she had for a period of time, and she was swept off her feet a bit. ... And then when she realized who she was dealing with, everything changed."
Matt was shot and killed by searchers June 26, about 30 miles west of the prison. Sweat was captured near the Canadian border two days later and sent to another prison.
Mitchell, 51, faces a sentence of 21/3 to seven years in prison under terms of a plea deal with prosecutors. Sentencing is set for Sept. 28. Johnston said his client will not be able to post the bail of $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond.