Ashley's Story by Morgan Bolom

Everyone probably has an idea of what a prison inmate will look and act like. My preconceived image was shattered when I met Ashley, a petite 24-year-old inmate. Ashley was energetic, bright, and easy to talk to. I was curious to find out why a person who seemed as if she belonged on a college campus got stuck in prison.

“When I was younger I thought the rules didn’t apply to me,” Ashley said.

She had been in trouble since she was 12. It started with marijuana and escalated. After trying to run away several times, she landed in a juvenile correction facility. But her drug habits persisted.

In 1999 Ashley was sent to rehab. Rehab actually had a negative affect on her drug use. Ashley explains, “It served as a means for me to meet more people to do drugs with.”

After rehab Ashley got married, had a son, and became an exotic dancer. Her relationship with her husband became abusive. He did not work and forced her to be the sole source of income.

“I used my lifestyle as an excuse to use Xanex (a strong sedative),” she said. At the time, she weighed around 110 lbs and would take 8 to 9 pills accompanied by tequila. She would then blackout and the next day have no idea what had happened. “I put myself into some bad situations,” Ashley said.

Then Ashley got caught. She was the middle man in a meth deal with an undercover cop. She was sentenced to the Regiment Treatment Program at the Eddie Warrior Correctional Facility.

When I asked her about the program she told me that it had done wonders for her. “There are rules in the program like no cussing, no talking badly about others, and no talking directly to the drill instructors,” she explained.

The program is military-based. “It teaches discipline,” Ashley said.

All the women learn how to march, stand at attention and parade rest, and pivot. Ashley explained there are several levels the women can work towards and earn by showing maturity and good behavior.

“I am a facilitator,” Ashley said. A facilitator is the highest position and the only rank in the program allowed to speak directly to the drill instructors.

Ashley is very thankful that she was sentenced to this program. “It taught me not to take things for granted,” she said.

She also feels that it made her a better mother and a better person. The first thing she wants to do after her release is play with her kids. She hopes to earn her GED, get a stable job, regain custody of her three kids, and begin a new life.

Ashley’s greatest fear is ending back where she started because statistics show six out of 10 women return to prison. However, it seems as if everything is looking up for this bright, young woman.

I asked how much time she had left in the program. She enthusiastically answered, “Eleven days.”

Morgan Bolom, pictured above interviewing Ashley, is a film studies student at TU and a student-athlete.