Daily Iowan

Issue date: 8/23/07 Section: 80 Hours

Judy White has five children and eight grandchildren.

For the last 28 years, however, a prison cell has been her home, and at times, she saw her young children fewer than one time a month. In 1979, the former Iowa City resident was convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence. Despite her not having committed the killing, her complicity in hiring a hit man was enough to land her behind bars indefinitely.

"Our punishment here is that you don't get to see your kids," White said. "It's not like you're there every day to tuck them in and say goodnight."

LeAnn Werts, who shares a cell with the silvery-haired, 61-year-old grandmother at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville, Iowa, nodded her head in agreement. This mother of two was convicted of child endangerment in 2001 after the death of a child in her daycare. The soft-spoken 37-year-old was sentenced, after numerous hearings, to approximately 16 years in jail.

These types of mothers are the inspiration for the latest exhibit at the UI Museum of Art, Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States . It examines the lives of mothers behind bars as well as the quality and equality of the American justice system through eight linked art installations. The traveling exhibition is on display through Sept. 23.

Sitting cross-legged in baggy navy-blue scrubs, Werts described a recent phone conversation she had with her youngest child. After correctly guessing her daughter's McDonald's dinner, the 6-year-old was convinced of her mother's psychic abilities: The girl was, as it turned out, having a cheeseburger deluxe (no onions), fries, and a Sprite.

Werts sees her children every weekend and talks to them nightly on the phone. During the school year, they bring their schoolwork with them for her to look over.

"My children are the biggest part of my life; they keep me going every day," she said. "A lot of [my children's] teachers have said that even though I'm not home with them full-time, I play a bigger part in their life than most parents." Werts still has around 10 years left in her sentence. Her daughters live in Altoona, Iowa, with their grandmother.

Although White and Werts maintain close contact with their children, their relationships are not typical of incarcerated mothers. Many women seldom see their children, and some lose contact with them forever.

According to the Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, 2.4 million American children have a parent behind bars. Seven million, or one in 10, of the nation's children have a parent in jail or prison, on probation, or on parole.

Continued...

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