By Erin Quinn

Tribune-Herald staff writer

At 67, Margaret Mills is headed to prison.

There, according to state justice officials, she’ll get up at 4 a.m. and head to work.

She’ll share a cell or dormitory-style room with at least one other inmate and shower in a group setting with no privacy walls.

Long known to be a savvy businesswoman, Mills is expected to begin her nine-year prison sentence after being formally sentenced at 10 a.m. today in Waco’s 54th State District Court.

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After pleading guilty late last month to third-degree felony theft, Mills took a plea agreement in which she will be sentenced to nine years in prison and have to pay $307,968.99 in restitution to Downtown Waco Inc., the development agency she headed for 18 years. She initially had asked for probation.

While it is unclear exactly where Mills will be sent, courthouse officials say it is most likely she will serve her time at a women’s prison in Gatesville.

Jason Clark, a spokesman with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, declined a visit inside the prison to the Tribune-Herald but agreed to give insight as to what life behind bars might be like for Mills.

Q What happens when she first gets to prison?

A First, a woman entering prison will spend time in an intake facility, where she will go through the TDCJ’s prison classification process. Over the next few weeks to few months, staff at the intake facility will evaluate her educational background, mental history and medical files. Depending on which intake facility she is sent, she could be housed in a cell block or a large, dormitory-style room. There, staff also will evaluate her work skills to place her into an appropriate job. At 67, she will not likely be assigned to outdoor field work. She will likely work somewhere like the laundry room, “chow hall” or hair salon. She will be distributed all-white prison clothes and necessary hygiene items. The type of cell or dormitory she is placed in, and its level of security, will depend on her classification in the “general population” of prison.

Q And, after the intake facility?

A She will then be housed in a prison unit with other offenders in her “custody level.” A dormitory setting is a large room with rows of beds for inmates. A cell block includes cells with two beds or bunk beds, a desk and a toilet. The size of the cell varies from unit to unit but would typically be shared with another inmate. Prisoners are grouped together by their classifications or custody levels and not by their ages. Showers are taken in a group setting.

Q Could you describe an inmate’s typical day?

A Generally, inmates will rise at about 4 a.m., eat breakfast and head to their respective jobs. After work, there are opportunities for recreation such as softball and basketball. There are also various educational classes women can take, or Bible studies and parenting classes they can choose to attend. There also are chapters of groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous behind the prison walls. Women are served three meals each day and can buy snacks or other items at the prison’s commissary. Money for the women can be put into an account by family members. “Lights out” is typically at 10 p.m.

Q Can inmates make phone calls or receive visitors?

A Depending on their classification, women can make one, five-minute phone call every 90 days. They can typically receive visitors for two hours each weekend. Those visits will likely be behind glass.

equinn@wacotrib.com

757-5748