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Assemblywoman Duprey frustrated at plea deal for former Clinton Correctional worker who aided escape

Posted 7/29/15

Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, R, Peru, is upset that the Clinton County District Attorney’s Office cut a plea deal with a former Clinton Correctional Facility tailor shop worker who last month helped …

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Assemblywoman Duprey frustrated at plea deal for former Clinton Correctional worker who aided escape

Posted

Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, R, Peru, is upset that the Clinton County District Attorney’s Office cut a plea deal with a former Clinton Correctional Facility tailor shop worker who last month helped two inmates escape.

Her 115th Assembly District includes the a narrow slice of eastern St. Lawrence County, from Brasher down to Piercefield.

On Tuesday, Joyce Mitchell took a plea deal that calls for 28 months to seven years in state prison.

She admitted to smuggling hacksaw blades, a punch and chisel which inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat used to escape from the maximum security facility.

A federal agent killed Matt about three weeks later in Malone. Sweat was shot in the back by a state trooper as the unarmed man fled after being spotted on a road in Constable.

Duprey’s statement:

“It does not seem to me that justice has been served with the plea agreement for Joyce Mitchell. The majority of public commentary shows outrage at this process that certainly appears to favor the criminal instead of serving the public good.

Mitchell, by her criminal actions, some of which she apparently will never be charged, caused irreparable harm to the entire state corrections system. Her infatuation with two murderers placed hundreds of law enforcement personnel in extreme danger, created physical and emotional stress for thousands of North Country residents in Clinton and Franklin counties, and cost the hardworking taxpayers of our state millions of dollars for 23 days. Perhaps some kind of reasonable explanation for this plea deal is forthcoming, but right now, I cannot see how this is any form of proper justice.

The quick action to allow this guilty person to enter into a plea deal should encourage the Inspector General’s Office to finalize its investigation and issue results. It’s time to submit recommendations to hold all people responsible for this escape accountable and punish them appropriately while vindicating the correction officers who were not involved and allow them to go back to work.

Several correction officers are still on administrative leave, locked out of the prison without any opportunity for a hearing even though there is a widespread feeling that the majority of them were not involved in any way with the crime. Their professional and personal lives have been turned upside down because of the criminal actions of Joyce Mitchell. This entire episode has placed additional stress on correction officers who already work in an environment of tension and anxiety. I’m very impressed with the great improvement in morale I observed on my last tour, but I also realize the uncertainty of the fates of their innocent co-workers makes a tough job even harder. Short staffing still requires officers to work many hours of overtime, which has a serious effect on family life for the officers, their spouses and children.

The overwhelming majority of our correction officers and civilian employees do their jobs incredibly well every day in a difficult setting. They are professionals who take pride in serving with dignity and ensuring the safety of our communities. They are not allowed to make any public comments about prison issues. As I’ve done throughout my career, I will be the voice for those who are not given the opportunity to speak for themselves. Let’s give them the courtesy of justice and closure, too.”