“When my water broke, I went to the clinic and they tested me to see if I was in labor. Once I got to the hospital I was in my own room and there were two or three correctional officers on me at all times. The men would usually just sit outside the door and the women would sit right next to the foot of the bed, facing me. Looking back at it I wish I had said something, but I had all kinds of things going around in my head.”
A graduate from California State University with a masters in sociology, Sandra served a two year sentence in prison for a bar fight that broke our on her birthday. Prior to this she had been working as a probation officer for 5 years. While Sandra was out on bail she got pregnant and was encouraged to take a deal. She did, and gave birth to her son while still incarcerated. Few prisons allow incarcerated mothers to be accompanied by their children and in Sandra’s case, her son was taken away from her three days after she had just given birth.
The dehumanizing experience of incarceration doesn’t end when one leaves prison or jail. In fact it becomes an identity marker that prevents formerly incarcerated people to reintegrate back into society. With a criminal record, it’s much harder to get a job, rent a house, and even vote. This exacerbates the already existing racial and social inequalities that are already affecting the same groups of people
I used a documentary approach to capturing these photos and interviewed Sandra to inform my photographic approach. Together we created these photographs to document the relationship she has with her son, and as a testament that the criminal justice system is a traumatic and inhumane cycle that disproportionately affects people of color and women. Many times photography is used to reinforce stereotypes of who criminals are through identification (mugshots) and surveillance. This series was created to challenge this and as an ode to Sandra and her family.
After Sandra left prison, she got married and went back to school to earn her masters in social work. When I asked her what one of her dreams were, she answered with an unwavering determination: to help make it easier for people with criminal records to return home and be able to succeed.
