top of page
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
a logo for Bruised Behind Bars with handcuffs over one of the letters

Jennifer’s experience serves as an illustration of the rampant mistreatment that vulnerable people targeted by the US "justice" system face every day. She has been harassed, abused, and raped on multiple occasions. Officials have withheld medication and restricted medical care, putting her life at risk. They have confiscated her wheelchair, broken her thumb, and deprived her of food and water for 24 hours. Unfortunately, prisoners can have limited insight into their legal proceedings while incarcerated, often hindering their ability to fight for their own freedom. Jennifer says her lawyers misled her while she was imprisoned and did little to earnestly fight her case. 

Officials often use intimidation to further isolate prisoners. Jennifer's mother, Barbara, had a warrant put out for her arrest shortly after she sued for grandparent's rights (she herself had been forbidden to see Jennifer's kids). When Barbara learned of the warrant and decided to drop her suit, the warrant disappeared. Below are a few examples of some of the egregious misdeeds during Jennifer's imprisonment: 

 

  • Jennifer was kept in solitary confinement for 22 weeks in Jefferson County Jail. Laws in Colorado prohibit an inmate from being held in solitary for more than 15 days.
     

  • After her new attorney began demanding answers, Jennifer was abruptly and illegally moved to Fluvanna Women's Correctional Center facility in Virginia, with no explanation provided. In order to move an inmate across state lines, the law requires that (a) They must have no physical or mental health issues; (b) The move must place the inmate closer to family. Jennifer’s family is in Colorado, and officials were well aware of her extensive health issues.
     

  • Once, after suddenly being cited for "leaving her cell without permission" to attend a braille class—something she had been permitted to do for months—Jennifer was brought before a prison council where she wasn’t allowed to defend herself. As punishment, they took the items from her cell that she had purchased with her own money, along with many personal things she’d made or written.

Jennifer's Prison Experience

bottom of page