Joyce Mitchell, who was arrested after her connection to the June prison break in Dannemora, N.Y., was revealed, was sentenced up to seven years behind bars.
Mitchell, showing clear remorse for her involvement in the incident, wept and apologized as she was sentenced to 2 1/3, to seven years in prison, under terms established through a plea deal reached with prosecutors this summer, reported the Associated Press. The judge also set a November hearing on the state's claim for about $120,000 in restitution from Mitchell to cover the cost of repairing the cell walls that Matt and Sweat cut through to escape.
While in tears, she apologized to everyone involved in the case for the weeks of fear, disruption and inconvenience the escape caused.
"If I could take it all back I would," Mitchell said Monday, according to Fox News. "I can't begin to explain how sorry I am for all of this, to my community, to my coworkers, to my family, to all the officers that were involved in this and were taken away from their families in the search while these two men were on the loose."
Mitchell admitted that at 51 years old, this was "by far the worst mistake that [she's] made and that she'll "live with regret every day and will for the rest of [her] life."
Clinton County Court Judge Kevin Ryan, however, was unforgiving in his remarks to Mitchell, reported NBC News. While handing out the sentence, he cited the estimated $23 million in overtime costs caused by the manhunt and the "large portion of the local population" that was "terrorized."
He also mentioned that he had received letters from the public urging him to give Mitchell a stiffer sentence.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said he didn't feel that justice was served, wished he had been able to file additional or enhanced charges and believed Mitchell should have gone away for "a lot more than seven years."
"No, not at all," he said, in response to being asked if justice was served. "I say that because Joyce Mitchell was the primary reason, the primary avenue that David Sweat and Richard Matt used to escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility."
