This white floor. This white wall. These grey doors. This orange shirt. These are the only colors Nisha has seen in the past eight month. How is the weather? Is it cold? Is it warm? Is the sun shining? These are the questions all inmates have. How is my Baby doing? When do I see my darling daughter again? These are the questions Nisha asks.

“My childhood is the exact opposit of what I want for my child. Lyla deserves a chance,” said Nisha.

Very quietly the 25 years young woman describes her childhood and the many things she feels went wrong. When her mother was unable to pay for the drugs to feed her addiction, she prostituted Nisha instead. Nisha was 12 years-old. Soon, Nisha's only bond with her mother was being high together. 13 years later Nisha no longer has a home. Nisha is currently serving a sentence in the Henry County Jail, for bitting off the nose of another girl during a fight that was fueled by drugs. Three weeks before, Nisha gave birth to her daughter Lyla.

“What I did was wrong and horrible. Yes, I deserve to be in jail. Yes, I deserve to be punished...but... I just miss my daughter”.

Eight months into her sentence, Nisha feels ready to go out and start a new life: “Everything about me is changed. The way I look at the world and the way I look at what I wanna do in my life. My priorities are so much different now.I have so much waiting for me out there.

I wanna be a mom. I wanna be a damn good mom.”

***

Nisha, 25, is an inmate at the Henry County Jail in Clinton, MO. She is sentenced for biting off the nose of another girl in a drugfight. Nisha gave birth to her daughter Lyla three weeks before she had to go to jail. Since that Nisha was not allowed to touch her baby and saw her only on a monitor.