Joyce Mitchell interview: “Shawshank” prison worker blames depression

Joyce Mitchell breaks her silence and speaks to Matt Lauer in her first-ever interview.

In the NBC News exclusive, Mitchell, the New York prison seamstress who pled guilty to helping two inmates escape, tells Lauer, “I just got in over my head.”

“I was going through a point in my life — a lot of people go through depression. A lot of people go through that. And I just got in over my head. And I couldn’t get out. And I couldn’t tell anybody. I couldn’t tell my husband. Couldn’t tell my family. I couldn’t tell my co-workers. I couldn’t tell anybody. There’s nobody you can tell,” Mitchell explained.

Asked whether Richard Matt had “complete control” over her, Mitchell responded affirmatively: “Yes. He was good at that.”

Mitchell now faces a sentence of 2 1/3 years to 7 years in prison and $6,000 in fines under the terms of a plea deal with prosecutors. Her sentencing is scheduled for September 28.

Agencies/Canadajournal