Vanessa Franklin lost her mother, her father, and her husband in a 12-month span. But the grief of their deaths paled in comparison to parting with her three teenage daughters in the same year, 2008, when she went to prison for fraud.
“Being separated from them was worse,” said Franklin, who served four years in Oklahoma.
She couldn’t imagine a deeper hurt until a few years later, when her daughter, Ashley Garrison, was sentenced while pregnant. The 20-year-old went into labor the day she checked into prison.
Garrison had a boy and named him William. She held him for an hour before she was forced to relinquish custody to his father’s family.
As the female prison population continues to rise, there are more horror stories of pregnant women giving birth behind bars.
Christian ministries and advocates are stepping in. @MariaforW reports:https://t.co/sxCor4u8UP
— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) February 22, 2022