i m scared of dying. i ve seen people beat worse than what i got beat. for both women, the isolation of ad seg has provided a chance to reflect on their time behind bars. it was a reality check for me. it was really a reality check. and maybe this is what it took for me to have to realize it. this is not where i want to be. you re told not to be weak in prison. don t be weak in prison. that s a downfall. i don t know how to be strong. i just had that one habit and i just couldn t break away from it, you know? it was like taking away the loneliness. violence and drugs still take their toll inside valley state. darlene acevedo is serving time for petty theft. but as a drug user, she was sent to the ad seg for feeding her addiction on the inside. which led to an attack on another inmate. she s been in ad seg for 21 months. this is the first time i ve been sober in my whole life since i started using drugs since i was 18.
i ve seen people beat worse than what i got beat. for both women, the isolation of ad seg has provided a chance to reflect on their time behind bars. it was a reality check for me. it was really a reality check. and maybe this is what it took for me to have to realize it. this is not where i want to be. you re told not to be weak in prison. don t be weak in prison. that s a downfall. i don t know how to be strong. i just had that one habit and i just couldn t break away from it, you know? it was like taking away the loneliness. violence and drugs still take their toll inside valley state. darlene acevedo is serving time for petty theft. but as a drug user, she was sent to the ad seg for feeding her addiction on the inside. which led to an attack on another inmate. she s been in ad seg for 21 months. this is the first time i ve been sober in my whole life
valley state, building b-1 houses the expecting mothers. i m having twins. i don t know. i think i m having a boy and a girl. i hope, that s what i want. i have a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old at home. so when an inmate is ready to deliver at valley state, she s brought to nearby madera community hospital. correctional officers are posted outside the delivery room. but that isn t the only thing that separates these moms from the others in the hospital. when the babies are delivered, the mothers don t get to bring them home. a family member must pick up the newborn within 48 hours. otherwise, the baby is placed in foster care. this is my son, manuel. he was the first born. he weighed one pound and nine ounces. when inmate amelia gutierrez was sent to valley state on a parole violation on an assault charge, she was seven months pregnant with triplets. i had a really rough experience being here. high-risk pregnancy.
cell, you re handcuffed. it s just it s very depressing. it s very humiliating. linda donohue was assaulted at a nearby prison and was shipped to valley state for her protection. now her attacker will be arriving at the prison. so linda has been moved to ad seg for her own security. blood all over the room. i finally was able to get up, she had me pinned, i was able to get up and bang on the door for the officers. i m scared of dying. i ve seen people beat worse than what i got beat. for both women, the isolation of ad seg has provided a chance to reflect on their time behind bars. it was a reality check for me. it was really a reality check. and maybe this is what it took for me to have to realize it. this is not where i want to be. you re told not to be weak in prison. don t be weak in prison. that s a downfall. i don t know how to be strong.
most of the difficulties stem from the inherent differences between male and female populations. above all, pregnancy. pregnancies in a prison provide a very unique problem for us because many of the women that are pregnant are in very poor health. they re ill when they are pregnant. they come here and they re depressed. they have a number of issues going on in their lives. approximately 175 babies are born each year to inmates at valley state, building b-1 houses the expecting mothers. i m having twins. i don t know. i think i m having a boy and a girl. i hope, that s what i want. i have a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old at home. so when an inmate is ready to deliver at valley state, she s brought to nearby madera community hospital. correctional officers are posted outside the delivery room. but that isn t the only thing that separates these moms from the others in the hospital. when the babies are delivered, the mothers don t get to bring them home.