We consider an augmented mixed finite element method applied to the linear elasticity problem and derive a posteriori error estimators that are simpler and easier to implement than the ones available in the literature. In the case of homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions, the new a posteriori error estimator is reliable and locally efficient, whereas for non-homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions, we derive an a posteriori error estimator that is reliable and satisfies a quasi-efficiency bound. Numerical experiments illustrate the performance of the corresponding adaptive algorithms and support the theoretical results.