At the commissary, Stewart, like other inmates, can spend up to $290 per month on food and sundries.
Doing Her Time| Martha Stewart
After orientation Stewart will be assigned to a two-person cubicle. "Half the battle is finding a good roommate, because some of these people will steal you blind," says Pam Carson, 42, released from Alderson in September after a five-month term for embezzlement. "I’ve never in my life heard more F-words – and everyone screams. There is some fighting – I saw a bad fight over hair dye once."

Still, personal safety seems a non-issue – Alderson is a minimum-security facility that carefully screens out violent offenders. Given her promising start, will Stewart experience any rehabilitation while behind bars? If so, most agree, it will be by viewing her time, as the inmate handbook prescribes, "as an opportunity to prepare for a better tomorrow."

"If her attitude is right, she can give other inmates a lot of direction in their lives," says Robert Hopkins, 57, who retired in 1997 after 27 years as an Alderson landscaper. "I believe they will look up to her – she’s a strong lady."

• By RICHARD JEROME
• with reporting by JANE SIMS PODESTA, ALICIA C. SHEPARD and MELODY SIMMONS in Alderson and SHARON COTLIAR in New York City