Will Diane Charron ever be free? She began a life sentence behind bars in 1981 when she was entangled in a friend's act of revenge and ended up stabbing a stranger to death. She had just turned 19.

We follow the story of Diane's life, from her own testimony and that of corrections officers, prison case-workers and psychiatrists. Many show remarkable sympathy and affection for a troubled woman whose early life was marked by abuse. Diane was placed in foster care with an abusive alcoholic when she was only 18 months old, a misery that ended only at age 13. Diane has been shuttled back and forth between various prisons and psychiatric hospitals -- a personal hell, yet she is hopeful about the future. Sentenced to Life asks serious questions about prisoners with mental health problems. Some subtitles.