--- description: "Do I love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes," Lyle Mitchell said title: Prison Worker Accused in Escape Got in Over Her Head, Husband Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af5825bcefd8802/698857dce53abad1ce4de4c5/joyce-mitchell2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Prison Worker Accused in Escape Got in Over Her Head, Husband Says by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 1:26 PM CUT  Joyce Mitchell, left appears with her lawyer Stephen Johnston before Judge Buck Rogers in Plattsburgh City Court on June 15, 2015 in Plattsburgh, New York. Joyce Mitchell, left appears with her lawyer Stephen Johnston before Judge Buck Rogers in Plattsburgh City Court on June 15, 2015 in Plattsburgh, New York.G.N. Miller—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 1:26 PM CUT The husband of the New York prison worker accused of helping two convicted killers escape said Tuesday [his wife got too far “in over \[her\] head”](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/prison-escape-joyce-mitchells-husband-recounts-her-confession-n380131?cid=par-time-article%5F20150623 "undefined") to fully carry out the escapees’ plot. Lyle Mitchell told NBC’s [TODAY ](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/prison-escape-joyce-mitchells-husband-recounts-her-confession-n380131?cid=par-time-article%5F20150623 "undefined")that his wife, Joyce, was scared she would be harmed inside or outside of prison if she didn’t go through with the prisoners’ plan. The two prisoners, Richard Matt and David Sweat, were allegedly planning to kill Lyle Mitchell after they escaped, but Mitchell said his wife felt “scared” and couldn’t go through with it in the end. “She said, ‘I love my husband, I am not hurting him,'” Mitchell told Matt Lauer. “She said, ‘That’s when I knew I was in over my head.'” Joyce Mitchell has been charged with providing Matt and Sweat with tools to help in their escape. The two have been on the lam for more than two weeks. Joyce Mitchell denied having a sexual relationship with either of the prisoners in conversations with her husband, who says he still loves her despite the ordeal. “Do I love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes,” he says, according to NBC. “How could she do this? How could she do this to our kids?” \[[_NBC_](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/prison-escape-joyce-mitchells-husband-recounts-her-confession-n380131?cid=par-time-article%5F20150623 "undefined")\] _Read next:_ [_Prison Worker Who Allegedly Helped NY Escapees Under ‘Enormous Pressure,’ Lawyer Says_](http://time.com/3931387/prison-break-new-york-prison-escape-richard-matt-david-sweat-crime/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### See the Path 2 Killers Took to Escape From a Maximum Security Prison  Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours the Clinton Correctional Facility, where two inmates escaped on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  A man-made hole in the wall of the escaped inmates' cell at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  The industrial area where inmates escaped to from a hole in their cell at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours the escape route taken by two prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours the escape route taken by two prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours the escape route taken by two prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Governor Andrew Cuomo tours the escape route taken by two prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Governor Andrew Cuomo tours the escape route taken by two prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Gov. Andrew Cuomo tours the escape route taken by two prisoners at the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday, in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York  Gov. Andrew Cuomo surveys the manhole where two prisoners resurfaced after escaping from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. on June 6, 2015. Darren McGee—Office of the Governor of New York [_Listen to the most important stories of the day_](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3931669/joyce-mitchell-husband-speaks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3931669/joyce-mitchell-husband-speaks/"},"headline":"Prison Worker Accused in Escape Got in Over Her Head, Husband Says","datePublished":"2015-06-23T13:26:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:53.211Z","description":"\"Do I love her? Yes. Am I mad? 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