Joyce Mitchell wipes away tears as she sits with her attorney Stephen Johnston, in court on Tuesday, July 28, where she admitted she helped convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape.

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — A prison worker in northern New York admitted in court Tuesday that she helped convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape last month by smuggling them tools, including hacksaw blades hidden inside frozen hamburger meat.

As part of the plea agreement she accepted, Joyce Mitchell will not face other charges that were pending, including conspiracy to murder her husband, Lyle, and sexual assault or rape related to Matt and Sweat.

Mitchell, 51, was a civilian supervisor in the prison’s tailor shop, where she had contact with the men she later helped escape.

The plea offered by Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie will see Mitchell serve the maximum indeterminate time for her convictions — two and one-third years to seven years in prison for admitting to first-degree promoting prison contraband, a felony; and a year in Clinton County Jail for fourth-degree criminal facilitation, a misdemeanor. She will be sentenced Sept. 28.

She also has to give up her state teaching certificate and pay a $5,000 fine.

Matt, 48, and Sweat, 35, broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, on June 6 after using tools, over time, to cut holes in the back of their adjacent cells.

They climbed down a six-story catwalk inside the maximum-security prison, broke through walls and pipes and climbed out a manhole, starting an intensive manhunt that ended 23 days later when Matt was killed and Sweat was captured.

She was accused of assisting Sweat and Matt by slipping them hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit. The plan had been for Mitchell to serve as the getaway driver, according to investigators. The trio were going to kill Mitchell’s husband and flee to Mexico, but on the day of the escape, Mitchell didn’t show up, instead going to a nearby hospital with a panic attack, according to the district attorney.

She was arrested June 12. The State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision suspended Mitchell from her $57,697-a-year job right away.

On Tuesday, Mitchell wiped away tears as she signed papers waiving grand jury proceedings. Her husband, who has been visiting her at Clinton County Jail, was at the court session.

She answered quietly as Judge Kevin Ryan asked whether she understood the plea and had had enough time to talk with her attorney and family members.

New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott is leading an independent investigation into the escape.

“Today’s plea by Joyce Mitchell makes clear her culpability in the systemic breakdown that led to the escape of two cold-blooded killers,” Scott said in a statement. “I thank District Attorney Wylie for ensuring at my request that the plea agreement include full cooperation by Mitchell with my ongoing investigation.

“Nothing short of her full cooperation will be tolerated, and I am confident that when she fulfills this obligation, I will provide a thorough and complete accounting of all the factors contributing to this elaborate breakout, with an eye toward ensuring this never happens again.”

Mitchell will be entitled to her pension, according to Nikki Jones, spokeswoman for the State Comptroller’s Office.

State employees’ pensions “are generally protected by the State Constitution,” Jones said.

Chapman and Clermont write for The Press-Republican in Plattsburgh, New York.