Prosecutor: Prison inmates used tools smuggled in via raw meat to escape

The prison seamstress accused of helping two convicted murderers escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York on June 6 smuggled the tools they needed into the prison via raw ground beef, a prosecutor says.

Joyce Mitchell embedded hack saw blades, drill bits, and a hole punch into the meat, Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie told NBC News Tuesday. Mitchell told investigators that she left the meat in a refrigerator in the tailor shop where she worked with Richard Matt and David Sweat, Wylie said. As it's common at the prison for inmates to have hot plates in their cells so they can cook food, another corrections officer named Gene Palmer allegedly brought the meat to Matt, Wylie said. He has been placed on administrative leave but not charged, and Mitchell told investigators she does not think he knew there were tools hidden inside.

Mitchell, prosecutors say, planned to drive the men to freedom after they escaped, but had second thoughts and didn't go to the arranged pick-up spot. She has been charged with providing escape tools to the fugitives, and has pleaded not guilty.

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