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Four women courageously share their stories about their crimes—assault, kidnapping, DUI with vehicular assault, assault with a deadly weapon.  They confront their addictions and their anger, and accept the blame. They tell their prison experiences with honesty, the devastation to their families with poignancy, and their road to resilience with humility.

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Built in 1998, Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) is one of two correctional facilities for women in CDOC. DWCF is the largest and houses female inmates at all custody levels. DWCF has several unique responsibilities and programs for women inmates to include: housing all pregnant inmates, inmates with high medical and mental health needs, an intake unit, incentive unit, management control unit, a therapeutic community, and a Residential Treatment Program (RTP) for inmates with severe mental health treatment needs. DWCF has a capacity of 984 beds. DWCF also houses 17 female parolees who are participating in the Alternative Stabilization Assistance Program (ASAP).

The four women whose stories are shared in in Once Upon a Felony all served sentences at DWCF.

Four Women, Four Stories

“I grew up in prison. I grew into something different. Prison will be a part of me forever. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

—Kalena

“In prison, you analyze and try to figure out every aspect of your life, what went wrong. It’s traumatic.”

—Karyn

 

“I got sober before I went to prison. I got out of my warrant, served my sentence. I don’t know what else I gained by going to prison. Being away from my kids is my biggest punishment, not so much the prison.”

—Alejandra

“When I went to prison, I thought I didn’t have any say-so any more. Like how could my kids ever look up to me as a mom figure ever again? But going to prison was the best thing for me, absolutely.”

—Michelle

Praise for Once Upon A Felony

“…walk in the shoes of formerly incarcerated women…Ms. Britton vividly and compassionately chronicles their life experiences before, during, and after prison.”

—Nadine Kerstetter, Teacher, Denver Women’s Correctional Facility