4justicenow

My name is Mary Ellen and I have decided to write this blog to tell the many stories of women who are imprisoned for either crimes they didn't commit or were wrongly sentenced. I myself, was one of those prisoners. I am an entrepreneur and started my own business many years ago only to find that the State of Florida would charge and convict me of a crime that not only I didn't commit but was never committed in the first place. They say I didn't register stocks in my company which I believe never had to be registered. I was convicted and served 5 years in maximum security prisons in Florida. It was there that I met these women. I am currently on probation and still have a few years left to complete my sentence. But this story isn't about me. It is about the countless women I left behind and their stories.
I believe in my heart that I was divinely guided to serve this sentence in order to tell these stories. I am not angry but passionate to do something to make changes in a very broken justice system. You wouldn't believe the things that could land you in prison. Especially if you are a woman in Florida. The laws are often archaic and reversely discriminate against women in an effort not to give them special privileges. But they are not men and they continue to be treated as if they were or worse. These are not monsters. Most are women who were trying to protect themselves or their children and had no self defense laws in place to protect them. Some of them were convicted simply because they had knowledge of a crime and were threatened if they said anything. I am not saying that there aren't women who don't belong in prison, but I know first hand how many truly don't belong there or have served their time and deserve their freedom!