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AP PHOTOS: On the 'inside' with women behind bars

JACKSBORO, Tenn. (AP) - There was no makeup to put on, no outfit to prepare. There wasn't even any notice a visitor was coming. It was 2:30 on a weekday afternoon, and some women were roused from sleep by the sound of their cell door unlocking. They were asked if they'd pose for a portrait.

The setting was the Campbell County Jail - where the last time these female inmates looked into a camera, their mug shots were being taken. Some women were in for theft; others for drug possession or parole violations. For all, this stint behind bars was just the latest downward turn in a cycle of addiction and incarceration.

More than a decade ago, there were rarely more than 10 women in this rural Tennessee jail. Now the population is routinely around 60. It's an example of how the opioid epidemic is fueling the fastest-growing correctional population in America: Women.

Michelle Leopard estimates she's been in and out of this jail 30 or 40 times for aggravated burglary, theft of property, trespassing, probation violations and more. Every time she's released, she hopes to stay clean, but the reality of life on the outside quickly crushes those plans.

"We've always been a happy family. And then it seems like we moved to Campbell County, and everything just started falling apart. I don't know if it's because of the drugs here, but it pulls you in. The air is different here. It smothers you," Leopard says. "Down here, there is no kind of resources for women to get the help that they need. (I'm) always scared about ending up back in jail."

In 2015, Campbell County had the third-highest amount of opioids prescribed per person of all U.S. counties. There's no treatment available in the jail for the women, no counseling or chance to work, no other courses other than a high school equivalency diploma program. Lt. Mallory Campbell, assistant jail administrator, would like to offer more, but there isn't money for programs or staff.

For most women here, jail is a temporary pause from the only way of life they've ever really known. Blanche Ball learned to cook meth at home at the age of 15. Sarai Keelean once spent Christmas in a cell with her mother, who also is an addict.

On the inside, they bond, while relationships with those on the outside crumble. Children wind up in state care or are turned over to relatives. Grandparents become parents, yet again. And with each day that passes, the women dream of mending broken ties and changing their ways.

"I'm so thankful that he still loves me," says Krystle Sweat of her 10-year-old son, Robby. "He's disappointed in me. ... He doesn't say that he is, but I know he is. I hope that eventually he will be able to somewhat understand ... but I hope that he can see it as a lesson for himself (so) that he will never stray down this path."

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Michelle Tickle, 38, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "I started using drugs when I was 27. When that's all you do for so long and that's all you surround yourself with, it's all you know. I don't know why I keep doing the things I do. I've detoxed hundreds of times. It's going to kill me if I keep getting high. I want to get sober. I do. It's just I need to change everything. I would need a lot of structure in my life. I would love to be sober and working and being a good person in a community. I would love for that." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate April Bowlin, 34, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "I got addicted to drugs when I was 24 and after that my life just went downhill. I lost my kids. Came to jail, went to prison, just lost everything. I'm sick and tired. I'm tired of the addiction. I just don't think people should give up, it's possible. I'm not going to give up. I got to fight for me. Nobody else is going to." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Blanche Ball, 30, is photographed inside her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday April 18, 2018. Ball says she grew up around relatives using drugs and learned to cook meth as a teen. "I have no willpower whatsoever. The only thing that has been able to stop it is actually my incarceration. For me, that's just been a way of life. ... I know I could have done something with my life. I didn't. I'm very emotional. I take things very hard. ... my mother actually said to me once, you're never going to quit. you're just hardwired for it. Those were her exact words and I've used those words ever since. I thought, ‘You're right.’" (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Krystle Sweat, 33, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "I'm so thankful that he (her son, Robby) still loves me. He's disappointed in me. ... He doesn't say that he is, but I know he is. I hope that eventually he will be able to somewhat understand why I've completely went off the wrong path, but I hope that he can see it as a lesson for himself that he will never stray down this path." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Amanda Morris, 32, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "My hope is I don't come back to jail and I can be a mom to my kids again and that I can stay sober. I really want it this time. It's really eating on me. I just turned 32 and I'm running out of time. If these are my good years, I'm letting them pass me by." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Anesha Bell, 24, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "I've wanted to quit but I always wanted someone to care about me enough for me to want to quit. My mother was never there. My dad was never there. I just didn't care. I've always wanted to die. And this time I have my boyfriend and that's why I feel like whenever I get out of this place this time I feel like there's hope for me." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Christy Wilson, 29, is photographed inside her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday April 18, 2018. "One of the things that bothers me the most is my son came to visit me in jail and he was like,' Mom, please don't make me come and visit you here again.’ It's hard. To see that little face, that gives me all the strength I need. How could you do something like that to someone you love so dearly? It's not the you don't love your kids but the addiction takes hold of you and you'll do anything you have to do to get it. It's a vicious cycle that never ends unless you quit drugs." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Crystal French, 38, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "I got to know the real me again instead of the addicted to drugs person. I had a lot of anger issues before. I'm working on them still. I'd like to be a productive citizen, not an OD statistic, end up dying on drugs. I am a good person. I know I am. But I want to see that person again." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Sarai Keelean, 35, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "The other night I had a panic attack because it's getting close to getting out. At 3 a.m., I was freaking out. I just feel socially awkward to go out there and be normal and do right. You've been out of that for nearly six, seven years now. I'm really anxious and panicky and nervous and scared." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Nickie Worley, 26, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "I've made things difficult on my family like the people I've hurt. My dad is actually fighting stage 4 cancer. Being in here and having that fear of losing him while I'm in here and on top of that I leave him with my two of my little kids _ that is the hardest thing. I'm wasting away and I'm wasting my family away. I'm hurting them more than I'm hurting myself. It's time for me to grow up. I've had time to wake up and realize life is too short." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Mary Sammons, 41, holds a picture of her son, Micah, 20, who was murdered March 23, as she is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Sammons suspects her son’s murder was drug-related. “I always pictured my kids burying me, not me having to bury my children. Young kids are losing their life over bad dope. This is crazy. It’s so not worth it. He was a pretty boy. He was beautiful.” (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Lauren Jones, 28, is photographed in her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday, April 18, 2018. "The way I was living is not worth losing everything. I want to have a good career going for myself. I want to be able to be proud of who I am and be able to support my children and myself the way I should. I no longer have the desire, the want or the need to live the life I had. I have too many precious things at home that I'm missing out right now." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 AND THEREAFTER-Inmate Tasha Green, 29, is photographed inside her cell at the Campbell County Jail in Jacksboro, Tenn., Wednesday April 18, 2018. Green started using drugs a few years ago when she got hooked on painkillers while being treated for a dental problem. "You can say that you're going to do the right thing but it's hard to tell until you do get out of here of what choices you're going to make. I'm scared for my life right now because I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm scared, I think about my kids. Are they going to be mad at me when I see them, if I get to see them? My kids mean the world to me. They're the reason why I want to try to do better in my life." (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Associated Press
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