The 98% - Life After Prison · Judy Van Wyk & April Barber Scales

Working with Women on the Inside

·30 min·2 clips

April Barber Scales and Judy Van Wyk return to explore women in incarceration with a corrections expert.

This episode of The 98% - Life After Prison focuses on the unique experiences of incarcerated women and the professionals who work with them. Hosts April Barber Scales and Judy Van Wyk interview Bianca Harris, a former warden with over two decades of experience in North Carolina corrections. Harris began her career as a correctional officer at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women, which houses the state's largest female inmate population across all security levels. Bianca Harris worked at NCCIW from 1993, starting as a correctional officer before becoming deputy warden in 2008 and warden from 2010 to 2014. The facility manages women ranging from death row inmates to those in minimum security. Harris now serves as the director of a master's program in criminal justice at Meredith College. The hosts note that professionals supporting women after prison are often highly protective of them. This protective instinct has made it difficult for the podcast to secure interviews with women currently transitioning out of prison. The conversation with Harris aims to explain this dynamic and share insights from her lengthy career. Harris's perspective reveals that the relationships between staff and incarcerated women can differ significantly from those in men's facilities. She implies that the bonds formed require a nuanced approach to management and rehabilitation. The discussion likely explores how these relationships impact daily operations and reentry preparation. The episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at the complexities of running a major women's prison. It connects Harris's administrative experience to the broader challenges of reentry highlighted by the show. The tone is educational and conversational, blending personal career narrative with systemic observation. The style is interview-based, using a former administrator's expertise to explore a specific segment of the prison system. Listeners interested in criminal justice reform, gender-specific corrections, and reentry challenges would appreciate this episode. Those seeking stories directly from currently incarcerated or formerly incarcerated women might find the perspective limited to an institutional viewpoint.

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