Prison of Secrets

Prison of Secrets is a 1997 American television film directed by Fred Gerber. The film is based on a true story and focuses on a female prison inmate who fights for women's rights while still in jail.

Plot 
Lynn Schaffer is a loving mother and wife, who gets arrested for a crime she did not realize she had committed. She does not take the arrest seriously at first.  Viewing herself as innocent, she goes against the advice of her lawyer to take a plea-bargain. Instead she opts for a trial. Coming as a complete surprise to her, she is convicted, receives the maximum sentence of 10 years and is and sent to a women's prison, leaving behind her husband Larry and daughter Carey. In prison, she has difficulty adjusting to not having any privacy and having to deal with drug addicts and prostitutes but soon finds out that the prison is corrupt, with Sergeant Ed Crang and other prison guards often sexually abusing inmates.

Lynn is determined to stop this, but Larry advises her to not interfere, pointing out that she could be free soon on probation. Lynn tries to take his advice, knowing that tough Angie and Betsy are the only people who are raped. However, when Frannie, one of the few women Lynn befriended, becomes the third victim, she realizes that nobody is safe and decides to fight back. With the help of her husband, who runs a radio station, she informs the media about the corruption.

Sergeant Crang, determined to keep Lynn silent, watches her every move, prohibits her from receiving visits from her husband and even physically assaults her. To collect proof, Lynn tries to convince fellow inmates to support her, but at first no one is willing to cooperate because they are either afraid of Crang or Angie, who forces the girls to remain silent. Angie has always been profiting from the corrupt system, getting drugs from the police and being released on supervision once a week to prostitute herself.

In the end, Lynn receives a file from a sympathetic female guard with all the evidence she needs. When a senator visits to investigate the rape accusations, Crang and Angie try to keep Lynn from giving the materials to the senator, but with the help of fellow inmates and the female guard, Sheila, Lynn is able to reach the senator. Eventually, more than 20 guards are fired and replaced by female guards. Lynn is allowed to serve the rest of her sentence on house arrest.

Cast
Stephanie Zimbalist as Lynn Schaffer
Finola Hughes as Angie
Gary Frank as Larry Schaffer
Rusty Schwimmer as Carla
Dan Lauria as Sergeant Ed Crang
Kimberly Russell as Frannie
Stephanie Sawyer as Carey Schaffer

References

External links

Category:1997 television films
Category:1990s crime drama films
Category:1990s prison films
Category:American crime drama films
Category:American films
Category:American prison drama films
Category:American television films
Category:Crime films based on actual events
Category:English-language films
Category:Films about sexual abuse
Category:Women in prison films