Shawshank prison worker Joyce Mitchell 'changed her mind and decided not to have her husband killed as she dined with him at a Chinese restaurant'

  • Mitchell was sat across from her husband Lyle Mitchell at a restaurant when she decided she didn't want him killed
  • Her husband was going to be killed on night of June 5 by Richard Matt after he escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility
  • She had to make choice to save him by turning on prison escapees Matt and David Sweat who were on the run for three weeks

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 01:34 EST, 6 July 2015 | Updated: 16:12 EST, 6 July 2015

Shawshank prison worker Joyce Mitchell 'had a moment of clarity' when she decided to let her husband live while dining with him at a Chinese restaurant, an official said.

Mitchell, 51, had the change of heart only hours before Richard Matt and David Sweat planned to escape from the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility Dannemora, near the Canadian border, last month, the Buffalo News reported.

'They went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant after work at the prison, and Joyce Mitchell had a realization that this was D-Day, and the fantasy she had been living for almost a year was now becoming a reality that included the murder of her husband, who had been a good and supportive man,' a law enforcement official involved in the search said.

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Shawshank prison worker Joyce Mitchell (left) 'had a moment of clarity' when she decided to let her husband, Lyle Mitchell (right), live while dining with him at a Chinese restaurant
'They went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant after work at the prison, and Joyce Mitchell had a realization that this was D-Day'

Shawshank prison worker Joyce Mitchell (left) 'had a moment of clarity' when she decided to let her husband, Lyle Mitchell (right), live while dining with him at a Chinese restaurant 

Mitchell, 51, had the change of heart only hours before Richard Matt (right) and David Sweat (left) planned to escape from the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility Dannemora, near the Canadian border, last month

Mitchell, 51, had the change of heart only hours before Richard Matt (right) and David Sweat (left) planned to escape from the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility Dannemora, near the Canadian border, last month

It was while she sat across from her husband at the restaurant that she made the choice to no longer be apart of the plot that would have seen Lyle Mitchell, referred to as 'the glitch' killed, according to the Buffalo News.

In a decision that saved her husband's life she had to turn on Matt and Sweat, who she told investigators 'made her feel special', as she was made apart of the plot that excited her. She told investigators she got 'caught up in it'.

An intricate blueprint was formulated by the convicts and Mitchell is said to have been sworn to secrecy - although she was only given sketchy details of the escape plan - and was asked to bring in basic tools, including protective eyewear and speed bag gloves. 

While she let her husband live, Mitchell, who has been charged in connection with the escape did not stop Matt and Sweat's prison break that led to a three-week search.

Matt gave word to Mitchell on the morning of June 5 that the escape was going to take place that night and she was instructed to pick them up at midnight before handing her two pills that were meant to impair her husband.

He then would kill Lyle Mitchell inside their home later that night, the Buffalo News reported.

Matt, who lost between 40 and 50 pounds in order to fit inside the pipe, told her 'I'm going to take care of the glitch', referring to her husband.

It was while she sat across from her husband at the restaurant that she made the choice to no longer be apart of the plot that would have seen Lyle Mitchell, referred to as 'the glitch' killed

It was while she sat across from her husband at the restaurant that she made the choice to no longer be apart of the plot that would have seen Lyle Mitchell, referred to as 'the glitch' killed

Captured prison escapee David Sweat is back in a maximum security prison for the first time in nearly a month after being released from Albany Medical Center on Sunday morning. He was shot and captured on June 28

Captured prison escapee David Sweat is back in a maximum security prison for the first time in nearly a month after being released from Albany Medical Center on Sunday morning. He was shot and captured on June 28

In reality, the men managed to make it just 30 miles from the prison to Malone - a town in upstate New York near the Canadian border - after Mitchell failed to meet them after the escape and drive them to a still unknown location so the men could flee to Mexico.

Matt was located by police when a man driving a camper reported the vehicle has been hit by a bullet on June 26, and a search party that was dispatched to the area heard a man coughing in the woods.

He was shot and killed by a Customs and Border Protection SWAT team after he allegedly ignored their request to put down a 20-gauge shotgun he was carrying on him at the time. 

Escaped murderer David Sweat, who was shot and captured on June 28, has been moved from a New York hospital to another maximum-security prison.

The men managed to make it just 30 miles from the prison to Malone - a town in upstate New York near the Canadian border - after Mitchell failed to meet them after the escape and drive them to a still unknown location so the men could flee to Mexico

The men managed to make it just 30 miles from the prison to Malone - a town in upstate New York near the Canadian border - after Mitchell failed to meet them after the escape and drive them to a still unknown location so the men could flee to Mexico

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says Sweat was moved from the Albany Medical Center early Sunday. 

He was taken to the Five Points Correctional Facility in Romulus. The prison is about 200 miles west of Albany.

'Sweat will remain in the infirmary during the initial 24-hour period for the purpose of a medical evaluation,' according to a statement from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

'Following his discharge from the infirmary, Sweat will be housed in the Five Points Special Housing Unit in a single cell within the facility's 150-bed, 23-hour confinement unit. Sweat will also be placed on active suicide watch.'

'Each cell is equipped with a bed, a writing platform, a toilet and sink, and a facility-controlled shower which will limit movement.'

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