Self-Identities
Conversations with Convicted Women
Conversations with Convicted Women
Self-Identities:
Opportunities, for incarcerated women serving life and life without parole, permitted to speak “freely” through a Podcast lens inside a maximum/medium security facility is a rarity. Furthermore, it is a collaborative, rigorous, and often exhaustive process for all concerned. It takes authenticity, commitment, tenacity, and patience. Women, who show interest, meet as a group to discuss the podcast, specifically their contribution. This includes being comfortable to choose and openly discuss their childhood, teenage years through to adulthood; now serving life. There is no pressure for any woman to participate. They have free will to accept or decline. Some women I know, others I meet for the first time. The conversations focus on “their life, not their crime.” There are no scripts, or rehearsals beforehand, although some women bring notes. However, I have found that their notes are quickly discarded, to genuinely engage. Women discuss sensitive topics and remind me that they are more than their crime. The women open themselves to vulnerability, something I am conscious of and courteously acknowledge. Listening to their conversations we are reminded of similar incarceration and sentencing terminology. However, from country to country, serving “life” can represent differing sentencing lengths and incarceration experiences for women. Therefore I close with what one woman incarcerated for murder in Dublin Ireland, commented after watching “Until We Have Faces: Women Serving Life.” Her words should resonate with many. “I thought we had it bad, but at least we get to go home. Those women in America, many don’t!”
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About the Director & Co-Producer
Aaron J. Nutter works as a multidisciplinary artist, focusing in the areas of photography, film, and music with a background in podcasting. His current film project “Transient” is a full-length feature Science Fiction thriller that deals with the subjects of loss and grief. AJ has worked on a variety of musical projects including an ambient album that was inspired by the works of Alfred Hitchcock. His documentary photography focuses on rural coal communities. AJ earned his BFA in Photography from PCA&D and his Associate Degree in Video Production from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. He currently lives and works in Harrisburg Pennsylvania in the United States.