Stacey Dooley: Locked Up With The Lifers

Pet dogs walking the corridors, a 30-year-strong romantic relationship between inmates, and the freedom to make calls at any time - it's not what many would expect from a prison that houses more than 40 women serving life sentences without parole.

In this new documentary Stacey Dooley gets to know the inmates and the warden of the Iowa Correctional Institution, a radical prison in Northwest America seeking to build a humane environment for the women serving time for some heinous crimes, including murder.

It's a controversial approach, as many people believe that these women should be punished harshly for their actions, given the damage they have wreaked on the lives of the victims and the victims’ families.

The cameras follow inmate Judy White, who is serving a life sentence without parole for murder. Judy is in jail after she recommended a hit-man to a friend who wanted to kill her husband. Never far away from Judy is Helenea, a fellow inmate who Judy has been in a relationship with in prison for 30 years. However, the inseparable pair could soon be apart as Judy, now a pensioner, is fighting for early release so she can be reunited with her family.

Stacey interviews Barbara Pasa, who is less than a week into her life sentence for murdering her husband, after she took a life insurance policy out on him. Barbara denies the crime and is left feeling overwhelmed and lonely, which is only exacerbated by her children not speaking to her. Will Barbara come to terms with her new life and find a way to cope in a prison environment?

Cheyanne Harris was found guilty of murdering her child after she neglected him for days while she was high on drugs. The other prisoners are not giving Cheyanne an easy ride, and she has found herself in the segregation unit after she attacked a fellow prisoner who hurled abuse at her because of her crime. Cheyanne will soon be moving out of this unit again and only time will tell if she can stay out of trouble.

Stacey also speaks to Sheryl Dahm, the warden of the prison. Sheryl strongly believes that to keep the women safe, there needs to be a supportive environment for the prisoners in her care. However, Sheryl admits she feel conflicted as some victims of crime might think the treatment of the offenders is too lenient.

Publicity contact: EC3