Prison worker Joyce Mitchell tearfully pleaded guilty before the court for charges of helping two inmates convicted of murder stage an elaborate escape from a maximum security prison in upstate New York.
"She got in over her head into something that she never should have started. But she did, and she's paying the price now," Stephen Johnson, Mitchell's lawyer, told reporters outside the court.
Johnson adds: "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."
Mitchell is set to face a prison sentence of 2 1/3 to seven years. Johnson also said his client will not be able to either post bail of $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond, according to the Associated Press.
Mitchell, who works as an instructor in a tailor shop at the Clinton Correctional Facility, helped inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat by giving them hacksaw blades, drill bits and the two pairs of "special glasses," most likely for safety while using the equipment, HNGN previously reported.
Mitchell was supposed to drive the two inmates seven hours away to an unknown destination, but backed out at the last minute and was unable to pick them up both of them as they had planned.
It was also reported that Mitchell may have been involved in a relationship with Matt. Though she denied that she was in love with Matt, she did reveal that he made her feel "special."
Matt was shot and killed on June 26, while Sweat was captured near the Canadian border two days later.
