Where The Real People Of Escape At Dannemora Are Now — The Wild True Story Explained
In the Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora, real people have their stories told about their part in an event that seems almost too strange to be true. The miniseries is based on a true story that happened in 2015 when two convicted murderers broke out of prison after both men got into a romantic relationship with a married prison employee who aided in their escape. In one of history's most bizarre prison escape plans, the miniseries explains what led to their breakout and how one woman played a pivotal role in it.
However, as is the case with many fictional re-tellings of true-life events, there are things changed to add to the entertainment factor of the series, and other details are omitted for various reasons. This was the case with Escape at Dannemora, as director Ben Stiller had a big story to tell and some majorly talented actors to help him carry it out. What resulted was a seven-episode miniseries that brought home 12 Emmy nominations, including one nomination for each lead Escape at Dannemora actor.
Escape At Dannemora: What Happened In The Real Breakout
Matt & Sweat Broke Out After Digging A Hole Through Their Walls
Released in 2018, Escape at Dannemora tells the story of convicted murderersRichard Matt (Benicio Del Toro) and David Sweat (Paul Dano) and their successful breakout from the Clinton Correctional Facility. Helping them along the way is a married prison employee named Joyce Mitchell (Patricia Arquette). Matt killed his boss in 1997 and was serving a 25-to-life sentence for second-degree murder. Sweat killed a police officer and was serving a life sentence without parole.
Matt and Sweat escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility in June 2015 after digging holes through the walls of their cells with a hacksaw. They made their way into the heating pipe, which both men lost enough weight to fit into. However, the equipment needed for their escape plan was obtained thanks to Joyce Mitchell, a woman working as a tailor at the correctional facility. She ended up in a romantic relationship with Matt and got them the hacksaw blades, chisels, and drill bits they needed.
It took law enforcement officials 20 days to finally find the two men.
It took them three months, but Sweat and Matt finally got through the walls and made their escape. They made their way to a manhole in the street and then waited. Mitchell was supposed to pick them up, but she ended up in a hospital with chest pains, so the two men went their own ways. It took law enforcement officials 20 days to finally find the two men, although they were no longer together by then. Police shot and killed Matt. They also shot and re-arrested Sweat two days later. Mitchell was also arrested for assisting the men.
What Was Accurate In The Escape At Dannemora Miniseries
Ben Stiller Spoke Extensively With David Sweat
Ben Stiller created one of the most accurate depictions of a prison escape based on true-to-life events. That is because he got most of his information straight from the source. First, he turned an inspector general's report into a screenplay. Instead of looking at news articles and reports, he went straight to the source and found Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott’s 2016 report outlining the extensive state failures. This report showed the prison was responsible for not preventing Matt and Sweat's escape.
Escape At Dannemora True Story: How Richard Matt & David Sweat Broke Out Of The Clinton Correctional Facility
The miniseries Escape at Dannemora chronicles the true story of how Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility.
However, Stiller also wanted to make sure that the miniseries told both sides of the story fairly. While he knew better than to talk to Joyce Mitchell, who had been accused of lying and suing anyone who crossed her, he did speak to one of the men who escaped the prison, David Sweat. The two men talked for about six hours about what happened, and Stiller said that Sweat was open about everything, explaining exactly how the escape went down.
Stiller also ensured that the prior crimes the men committed were accurate based on police reports and court testimony and that the manhunt accurately showed how both men were captured — and, in Matt's case, killed.
What Was Left Out Of Escape At Dannemora
Joyce Mitchell Claims The Miniseries Lied About Her Part
There was some controversy surrounding Joyce Mitchell's portrayal in Escape at Dannemora. This comes from the mouth of Mitchell herself. In an interview about the miniseries, she had nothing good to say at all about Ben Stiller or how his miniseries portrayed her. She claims that she never had sex with either of the men and it was only added to make the show more dramatic. She also claims she gave the supplies to the two because she was scared of them (via New York Post):
“I never had sex with them... Ben Stiller is a son-of-a-bi*ch liar just like the rest of the world. He doesn’t care about the truth. All he cares about is making millions off me. He’s an idiot."
While the series was praised for its authenticity in telling its story, it reportedly also ignored one aspect of the breakout. According to a New York Times investigative report, men who served alongside Matt and Sweat were "tortured for information" about the escapes. However, not a single prison inmate was implicated, and the prison break was blamed on "extreme negligence by prison staff." The report indicated that several prisoners were “beaten while handcuffed, choked and slammed against cell bars and walls.”
The miniseries was based on Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott’s 2016 report about the state's failures in running the prisons. However, while the manhunt was shown, the abuse within the prison by investigators was ignored. According to the article, 31 people died at the facility between 2007 and 2013, and none of the abuse was shown in the Escape at Dannemora miniseries.
What Did The Cast & Crew Of Escape At Dannemora Say About The Events
Patricia Arquette Refused To Meet Joyce Mitchell
Ben Stiller explained what led him to want to tell this story after a career made in comedy (via NPR):
"I've always wanted to direct stuff that wasn't necessarily funny. This story came up. The timing of it, the opportunity was there to work on it. And to really work with these actors, I felt like I learned so much."
In the same interview, Patricia Arquette spoke about portraying Joyce Mitchell in the series. While Mitchell has blasted Stiller and claimed the miniseries was full of lies, Arquette wasn't swayed and said that she told the story the script asked for and never wanted to meet the real woman involved. Instead, she watched interviews with Mitchell to prepare:
"I do think that she was manipulated. I think that a lot of the guys that are in prison are hustlers and charmers, and it's part of how they've survived. I also think that she victimized others, so it was sort of a mixed bag of tricks...
I actually didn't want to meet her, because I'd seen the Matt Lauer interview and I saw her lie in that — which is interesting as an actor, to watch someone lie. But also, having talked to some of these different people who had worked with her, they said that she's very litigious and always threatening people. I just didn't want to deal with her drama, really.
However, Stiller did meet with Sweat. The Escape at Dannemora director said that the inmate was very forthcoming with all his information: "I don't know how much of what he was telling me was the truth. But he did give me a lot of details about how he actually cut his way out of the cell, how they cut their way through the steam pipe."
Despite Sweat sitting down with Stiller, The Daily Mail reported that Sweat was not pleased about the actor-director's portrayal of him or the events surrounding the prison back. The publication obtained a two-page letter reportedly written by Sweat in 2018, which said, "It would be my suggestion that you stick to comedies and movies, Mr. Stiller, before you really ruin people's lives with false Docu Series, or get better fact checkers."
Where Richard Matt, David Sweat, & Joyce Mitchell Are Now
Matt Is Dead, Sweat Is In Prison, & Mitchell Was Paroled
Richard Matt was killed when police found him after the breakout from Escape at Dannemora. It took 20 days after the two men escaped for law enforcement officials to find him. On June 26, 2015, someone noticed a gunpowder smell coming from a nearby cabin and called the police (the FBI, U.S. Border Control, and multiple other agencies were involved in the manhunt). Police showed up and found Matt there, although Sweat was no longer with him. A short gun battle ended with Matt's death.
Escape At Dannemora: What Happened To The Real Joyce Mitchell
Joyce Mitchell is given a lot of focus in the Showtime series Escape at Dannemora, and here is everything that happened to her after the show.
However, Matt had left Sweat behind, feeling the other escaped prisoner was slowing him down. Police found Sweat walking along a road in Constable, New York, only two miles from the Canadian border. Police also shot Sweat when he tried to make a run for the woods, but unlike Matt, Sweat survived the shooting. After his recovery, a court sentenced Sweat to another 3.5 to 7 years on top of his previous life sentence in October 2019. Sweat is currently serving out his sentence at a maximum-security prison in upstate New York.
As for Joyce Mitchell, she pleaded guilty to helping them escape, although she claims the miniseries painted her in a negative light. She claims she was forced to help the prisoners and did so out of fear. Ultimately, Mitchell was sentenced to seven years in prison. However, she was paroled in February 2020 and was released after just four years served. Despite the rumors that she had a romantic relationship with both prisoners, she remains married to the man she was with when she helped wth the Escape at Dannemora breakout.
- Creator(s)
- Brett Johnson, Michael Tolkin
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