TILLIE THE TAILOR PAROLED

‘Shawskank’ Joyce Mitchell, who aided escape from Dannemora prison, released on parole

By Bernadette Hogan

New York Post
February 6, 2020

ALBANY — “Shawskank” Joyce Mitchell was released on parole Thursday morning, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

“On February 6, 2020, Mrs. Joyce Mitchell was conditionally released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to Community Supervision. Mrs. Mitchell will be supervised in Franklin County. Per her sentence, the supervision will be completed on June 8, 2022,” the agency said in a statement.

Mitchell’s release date was originally scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, but the prison system doesn’t perform weekend releases based on state standards that require an individual to meet with his or her parole officer within 24 hours following conditional release.

Mitchell, 55, nicknamed “Tillie,” is the prison seamstress who aided two murderers — Richard Matt and David Sweat — escape from maximum-security Clinton Correction Facility in Dannemora, NY, in June 2015.

Mitchell smuggled in the killers’ escape tools — 99-cent hacksaw blades from Walmart and drill bits — which the pair used to cut through the walls of Clinton Correctional and spring themselves on June 6, 2015.

The prison break led to a nearly three-week escapade through Adirondack Park, involving over 1,100 state and federal law enforcement officials.

It ended on June 28, when Sweat was captured by state police near the Canadian border. Matt had been shot and killed several days prior. Sweat is serving out a life sentence at the Auburn Correctional Facility.

The manhunt was turned into a 2018 Showtime series, “Escape at Dannemora,” produced and directed by Ben Stiller.

Mitchell was portrayed by actress Patricia Arquette, detailing her intimate role with the two perps — a lustful prison tailor with eyes for both men.

She has been accused of having sex with both men, which she has denied.

Mitchell was previously denied parole three times following a prison sentence of two and a third to seven years in September 2015.