ANVOO

"It's important for me to better myself," she continued. "I can live better in here and if I do get out, I can do better out there." This is the remarkable thing I've discovered about people like Ms. Bendolph. Despite their hopeless sentence, they continue to grow & change. 11/12

She is one of close to 500 people cast away in Alabama's violent prisons with a death-in-prison sentence under the habitual offender law. Many, like Ms. Bendolph, committed crimes that involved no physical harm. Let's tell lawmakers to change this. 7/12 action.aclu.org/petition/al-…

I recently spoke to Ms. Bendolph, who says her family & God are the 2 things that keep her going. Her daughter Monica shared this photo from a recent visit. Ms. Bendolph's youngest son is behind her. He's now in high school. The 2 other boys are Bendolph's grandbabies. 2/12

Valrise Bendolph is one of 7000 women with a life sentence in the United States. Nearly 1/3, like Ms. Bendolph, have no chance of parole. Ms. Bendolph was sent to prison when her youngest child was 3. She's now a grandmother. 80% of incarcerated women are mothers. 1/12