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The documentary series profiles women from all walks of life, from gang members to grandmothers, engineers and former police officers, who have been convicted of murder. With exclusive interviews with the inmates, direct from location in medium and maximum-security prisons, each woman tells her unique story about why she felt compelled to use violence as a solution or did she?

In a dramatic, point-counterpoint format, prosecutors and defense attorneys, police, and psychological experts give their differing views on the crime while the families of the victim and the inmate describe the gut-wrenching impact on their lives. Each episode is a compelling look into the lives of women who took the wrong turn at the wrong time, and ended up behind bars and are now paying the heavy consequences for their actions. The series also explores how the women have come to terms with their crimes while incarcerated and if and how they have turned their lives around.

Alice Knestaut & Sarah Allen Tuesday, July 6 at 10pm | 9c

The first of these stories features Alice Knestaut, who along with several co-defendants, was convicted for her role in the slaying of two men in a drug robbery gone wrong. Both men, bound in duct tape, with pillow cases over their heads, were shot on a bridge off a county road in Florida. Knestaut received two life sentences for her role in the crimes. She claims that she cooperated with her co-defendants because she feared for the lives of her family. Alice Knestaut bio

On July 9, 1996, at 2 a.m., a 40-year-old drifter named Gregory “Rooster” Slaght was fatally shot at the Maple Leaf Motel in Sarasota, Florida. There was little physical evidence at the scene to tie to a suspect. Five months later a police informant pointed to gang member Sarah Allen as the shooter. As part of an undercover operation, Allen was tape recorded as bragging about the murder in order to earn a teardrop tattoo, a status symbol in her gang. She was arrested, charged with armed robbery and first-degree murder, and subsequently convicted of both charges. Allen, who maintains her innocence, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. She never received the teardrop tattoo. Sarah Allen bio

Women Behind Bars