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

ABC News Anchor Diane Sawyer takes you on a journey into the world of women living behind bars in America’s prison system. The United States has larger populations and longer sentences than much of the world. The women and their crimes and sentences pose tough questions. 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. An ABC News Production.