Going to term

With Salazar at the front of the line, inmates in the K-pod at the Kootenai County Jail await their lunch on Feb. 27.

This is not how Cristina Salazar imagined starting a family: unmarried at age 22, nine months pregnant and sitting in jail.

Dressed in orange pants, shirt and flip flops – standard issue at the Kootenai County Jail – Salazar stands against a wall waiting for lunch inside K-pod. The dormitory holds up to two dozen women.

The other inmates let her go to the front of the line. The meal is two salami sandwiches, a banana and orange juice concentrate to which the women add water. Because she’s pregnant, Salazar also gets milk.

“It’s rough. I feel all big and huge,” she said in late February. “It’s not the best but, I mean, I just gotta tough it out. I imagine it wouldn’t be much more comfortable being out there, being this big.” More here. Scott Maben, SR

Compelling story with photos by Kathy Plonka.
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