A Nation of Women Behind Bars : A Diane Sawyer Hidden America Special
(eVideo)

English

Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on ABC News Productions.

Originally released by ABC News Productions in 2015.

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Hosted by Diane Sawyer.

ABC News Anchor Diane Sawyer takes you on a journey into the world of women living behind bars in America's prison system today. On both political sides, there is an agreement that the American prison system needs to be re-examined. The United States has larger populations and longer sentences than much of the world. Women are the fastest growing group of prisoners in the country compared to men. Diane Sawyer and team went into four prisons across the country for eight months to see what's wrong and what's next. The women and their crimes and sentences pose tough questions. Eraina Pretty, serving life in prison for first-degree murder - does anyone sentenced to life because of a violent crime deserve a second chance? Emilia Carr, the youngest woman on death row in the country - what would you do after hearing her story? The confounding question - how do you measure a life? Sawyer gives us an inside look at the issues of mental health in women’s state prisons where 73% of the inmates have mental illnesses. She also explores the daily duel of wits between inmates and guards and the intricacies of contraband, currency and conspiracy. Inside these walls, the women still find ingenious ways to get the food they crave, the makeup they miss, and sometimes even sex. Sawyer and her team traveled to Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, and the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida.

11 & up.

Streaming video file.

System requirements: Access Video On Demand playback platform.

Closed-captioned.