Criminal justice is a process, involving a series of steps beginning with a criminal investigation and ending with the release of a convicted offender from correctional supervision. Rules and decision-making are at the center of this process. This is the author's story of what happened behind the walls of her home and the walls of the prison that led her to make the choices she did. She tells the story this way: I lost everything I had in one day. I am Denise Prell and I believe I have been judged, convicted, and punished too harshly for my actions. My punishment was far greater than my crime. No one else would have been imprisoned for what I did. I am telling my story from the heart so that people will understand. The Press coverage was exaggerated, blown completely out of proportion, comparing me to 'Escape at Dannemora, ' the Ben Stiller Mini-Series, saying we had 'sexual relations.' My life took a path beyond your wildest imagination, but neither of those headlines is true.