In 2015, when two convicted murderers broke out of a prison in upstate New York, it kicked off a weeks-long manhunt — and put the prison’s tailor shop supervisor under intense scrutiny. The Emmy-nominated 2018 series Escape at Dannemora depicts the events surrounding the real-life jailbreak committed by inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat, including the involvement of the prison employees who aided and abetted them. Directed by actor-director Ben Stiller (Severance) and created by Brett Johnson (Ray Donovan) and Michael Tolkin (The Offer), the crime series stars Patricia Arquette, Benicio del Toro, and Paul Dano. Arquette won a SAG Award and a Golden Globe for her performance.
Tilly (Arquette) is a prison seamstress at Clinton Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in rural New York State. She oversees two prisoners, Richard (del Toro) and David (Dano), who are both convicted murderers. As Mitchell’s relationship to the pair becomes more intimate, Richard and David begin to plan their escape from Clinton — with her help. The series follows the trio in the days before and after the escape, as well as during the three-week chase that followed.
The series takes place in and around the town of Dannemora, in Clinton County, New York.
Yes, Escape at Dannemora is based on a true story. The real events involve two prisoners convicted of murder: Richard Matt, who was sentenced to 25 years to life for second-degree murder, and David Sweat, who was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to first-degree murder for killing a sheriff’s deputy.
On June 6, 2015, Matt and Sweat broke out of prison via a tunnel that they’d cut out using tools obtained from prison workers. They were housed in the prison’s “honor block,” a section in some prisons that allows for more freedom of movement, which enabled them to find and access the tools. Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell, the prison’s tailor shop supervisor, and Gene Palmer, a prison guard, both eventually served prison time for their roles in helping Matt and Sweat escape.
After a multimillion-dollar manhunt that lasted several weeks, Matt was found on June 26. After he’d drawn attention to himself by shooting at a passing vehicle with a shotgun, authorities shot and killed him. Two days later, Sweat was found walking down a road nearly 20 miles away. He was shot by a state trooper but survived, and was sentenced to an additional 7 to 14 years.
David Sweat is currently serving his life sentence at a maximum-security prison in upstate New York. In October 2019, he was sentenced to an additional three and a half to seven years for his escape.
Joyce Mitchell, aka Tilly, pleaded guilty and was charged in 2015 with promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation. She was released from prison in February 2020 after serving more than four years of her seven-year sentence.
Corrections officer Gene Palmer, who pleaded guilty to his involvement in Matt and Sweat’s escape, was released in 2016 after serving four months of his six-month sentence.
