I received an email today from an inmate that was in the psychiatric unit at the time I photographed my project Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons. Often we forget that those we are photographing are honored to share their story. Here is the email:
Dear Jenn,
I was an inmate at the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange, and I was in the CPTU when you were making the documentary. I wanted to express my appreciation for the great job you’ve done helping to inform people about mental illness in the prison system. I watched the video you have on your website, and it was excellently created and produced.Things are getting better for those of us who suffer from mental illness, and a lot of it is thanks to the work of people like you.
Thanks again
An image from Trapped: Mental Illness in Prison
To see more from the project, click here.