The Pitt County Detention Center in Greenville, North Carolina, is the setting for the eighth season of “60 Days In,” which has its premiere on June 15.
In the latest season of 60 Days In, seven innocent people are once again imprisoned, and one of them spoke exclusively to PEOPLE before the show’s premiere.
The popular A&E television show centers on individuals who give up their regular lives to volunteer to spend two months as convicts in county jails all throughout the nation while hiding their identities.
According to the network, the show’s objective is to examine corruption in the prison system via the perspectives of participants in an effort to spur constructive change. The participants must carry out their objective within the facility without letting the guards or inmates know that they have not been found guilty of a crime.
The Pitt County Detention Center in Greenville, North Carolina, is the setting for the eighth season of 60 Days In, which has its premiere on June 15.
Below is a special trailer for the forthcoming season.
Pitt County Sheriff Paula Dance is heard in the video saying, “My staff and I cannot see the problems within the detention facility. Seven volunteers are prepared to enter the facility with the assistance of the 60 Days In program, live among the prisoners, and report any issues they encounter.
The sheriff continues, “And perhaps with their assistance, I can get my jail into a better place and repair the issues from the inside out.
Oh, my God. Therefore, if I’m comparing my experience to the last time I became clean, it was far harder and involved many more emotions. I never want to go back, Sara, who is only known by her first name on the show, says PEOPLE.
Prior to appearing on 60 Days In, Sara claims she battled a meth addiction that began when she was just 14 years old, gave birth to her first child at the age of 18, and spent about seven stints in and out of jail for drug-related offenses, with her most recent stay, which she claims occurred between 2012 and 2014, being a sobering experience.
The last time Sara, 34, was incarcerated, she claims, “I found my recovery in jail.” I participated in certain programs when I was incarcerated, which motivated me to seek sobriety.
“I’ve been working online doing social media stuff, businesses, coaching, and things like that,” she continues. And so, the main reason I wanted to do this was to utilize my experience to motivate those who were incarcerated and perhaps struggling with drug addiction.
The mother of six claims that despite her mission, she was aware that going back to jail would put her in situations where she would be triggered.
Want to stay up to date on crime news? For information on interesting unsolved cases, ongoing trial coverage, and breaking crime news, subscribe to PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter.
She tells PEOPLE, “It was really hard for me to hear all of the glorifying [of] drugs.” Of course, many of the prisoners suffer from severe addictions. And as a result, I felt somewhat sick while listening to their stories.
Being apart from her six children, though, was one of Sara’s toughest experiences, she claims.
“They were at home with their father. And I simply kept reminding myself that this wasn’t permanent. It will transform lives, and it’s a good mission that I’m on. And I can’t wait for my children to see this for themselves so I can explain to them what prison is like. Trouble sends you things like this, you know?”
Sara was “arrested” on the fictitious allegation of driving while her license was suspended. But it wasn’t as simple as one might think for her to adopt her false identity in the program.
She admits that maintaining her cover story was challenging and terrifying. What questions and drills will they ask me at any moment? And, if that makes sense, it was difficult for me to win them over.
Sara claims that being open and discussing “dark things” helped her win the trust of the prisoners.
“I do have all of these tattoos, and so that really helped me because I have a needle and my sobriety date and things like that,” the woman says. They said, “Whoa, this girl is really… She does have a story,” as I recall. Because of my transparency and sharing of myself, many of them really did trust me and opened up to me, which was really lovely.
In general, Sara advises viewers to anticipate seeing the individuals’ diets, living arrangements, occasional arguments, and drug use. Sara said that the thing that shocked her the most was that she didn’t see any drugs.
“I wonder if they are guarding me,” Did they not want to show me because they knew I was a sober girl? I was absolutely stunned. It’s going to be crazy, so you’ll just have to watch and see.
.
