In order to determine exactly how an unassuming seamstress became the key to such a grand escape, “Dannemora Prison Break” dives into the psyche of those involved. Told in escapee David Sweat’s own words, details of he and Richard Matt’s relationship with Joyce Mitchell reveal them as mastermind manipulators exercising a thrill for control. This, juxtaposed with Joyce’s only in-depth interview following her sentencing, offers a chilling depiction of con-artist fantasy gone too far. Was Joyce a willing accomplice determined to risk it all or a manipulated pawn in a larger scheme that saw no place for her beyond prison walls? Conversations with former Clinton guard Jeffrey Dumas and inmate Erik Jensen, as well as interviews with family members closest to the dynamic trio, offer varied perspectives on the detrimental friendship between two seasoned criminals and their civilian supervisor that defied the cardinal rule of prison culture: never get too close.
