THE WOMEN OF THE WESTERN MASS REGIONAL JAIL

The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Challenge What You Thought You Knew

Behind the wall in Chicopee Massachusetts, there are 150 women serving time. If you’re sentenced, you wear green prison garb. If you’re waiting to be sentenced then you’re wearing orange. The Women’s Western Mass Regional Correctional Center is under the watch of the Hampden County Sheriff, Nick Cocchi, and thus, considered a jail. Just don’t make the mistake of calling it a prison. Prisons are either run by the state, the feds, or private industry. Upon arriving at the jail, submitting to our CORI reports, and being escorted through the many sliding metal doors, we are ushered into a classroom where there are six incarcerated women sitting around a table and signing release forms for their interview. Assistant Superintendent, Colleen Stocks, who runs the jail, graciously hosted us and allowed us to chat with Maggie, Vanessa, Brenda, Auntie, Keys, and Jay. Listen in as these women open up about life behind the wall, the daily challenges of incarceration, and what they would tell their younger selves.