Stewart Decorates New Home
| Published 10/01/04

Graphic by: Doni Neel

The time has officially come for America's top homemaker to decorate her cell. Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in a state prison, then five months under house arrest in her estate in Bedford, NY. It is still being determined if Stewart can roam her entire estate, or if she will be blocked off from the majority.

Stewart, after requesting to start her sentence sooner, will start her prison sentence on Oct. 8. Stewart was sentenced to spend her five months at Alderson, an all women's facility located in West Virginia. Stewart, wanting to be close to her mother and attorneys, requested to be held in Danbury, Conn., or in Coleman, Fla. She was placed in West Virginia instead of Conn. or FL. which was her second choice because of publicity. At Alderson it will be more difficult for paparazzi to reach her. It was also felt that the two prisons that Stewart requested were too crowded, especially in Florida with the recent hurricanes.

Alderson is a minimum security prison that holds up to 1,000 inmates. Stewart will be sharing her room with between 30-90 other inmates in a dormitory style room with no dividers. This will obviously be a huge adjustment considering her current estate is 153 acres. Alderson has no barbed wire and looks little like a prison. She will be expected to spend most of her time working, making between 12 cents and 40 cents an hour. Although it's not her favorite hobby of decorating and cooking, Stewart will be allowed to play sports in the prison yard on her free time.

In 2001, Stewart was convicted of insider trading when she sold ImClone Systems stock a day before that stock dropped. She was also charged with conspiracy, obstruction and making false statements as to why she sold the stock. Stewart chose to start her sentencing early so she will be out in the spring.