Where is Joyce Mitchell now? All about the prison guard from Escape at Dannemora

Joyce Mitchell was a prison supervisor who was involved in a physical relationship with two convicts at the Clinton Correctional Facility. Mitchell helped the two convicted killers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, escape the correctional facility in June 2015. Mitchell was named an accomplice in the prison break.

After the killers were found missing from their cells, the correctional facility launched a massive manhunt that ended with Matt being shot and killed. Meanwhile, Sweat was also shot but he survived and was arrested soon after.

Joyce Mitchell, too, was arrested for her involvement in the prison break and was given a sentence of seven years. She served her sentence and was released in February 2020, but was kept under community supervision in her Franklin County home. After the term ended, she chose to remain out of the public eye.

Showtime's Escape at Dannemora took inspiration from this case and saw Patricia Arquette portray the role of Joyce Mitchell. The former prison supervisor is still blamed for her actions, and many believe she deserved a longer sentence for her actions.

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Who is Joyce Mitchell and what did she do?

Joyce Mitchell, who went by the nickname "Tilly," was initially hired as an industrial training supervisor by the Clinton Correctional Facility in 2008. Five years later, she was given a new role in Tailor Shop 1, where she worked when she started relationships with David Sweat and Richard Matt.

In prisons, inmates often tried to win the favor of prison supervisors for special treatment. Around 2012, other inmates began noticing that Joyce Mitchell seemingly gave Sweat and Matt special treatment that the others considered to be inappropriate.

According to reports, this affair between Joyce Mitchell and Matt and Sweat turned serious, and Mitchell began a physical relationship with Matt inside the tailor shop. She also did s*xual favors for Sweat.

In January 2015, Matt and Sweat began planning their prison break, and they involved Mitchell in this plan. They convinced Mitchell that they would take her with them in their post-escape life. They got her to smuggle hacksaw blades, chisels, and other contraband into the prison, concealed in frozen meat.

The duo used these tools to carve holes in their cell walls and broke into the sewer system to escape from the prison. Mitchell was supposed to wait with a getaway car stocked with guns, ammo, camping gear, and a compass after their escape, so they could flee from the country.

However, on the day of the escape, Mitchell got cold feet, and admitted herself to a local hospital, claiming that she had chest pains. This decision possibly saved her life as the two criminals would have probably either used her as leverage or would have dumped her after getting out.

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What happened to Joyce Mitchell?

Soon after the criminals were caught, the police began speculating that there was someone from the inside of the facility involved in the escape. While questioning the staff, they finally penalized Joyce Mitchell, who was arrested in June 2015.

In her September 2015 hearing, Mitchell was sentenced to up to seven years in prison and ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution for damages. She served her sentence at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County and got out on February 6, 2020. She was also ordered to remain in oversight until June 2022.

She has since kept her life private and has stayed away from the limelight.

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Showtime's Escape at Dannemora covers her story in better detail.