Every Inmate Who Has Left Litchfield on Orange Is the New Black

Taystee's season six trial is heart-wrenching enough on its own. But it's even more heartbreaking when you remember that Taystee is actually released from Litchfield in season one. Taystee has trouble adjusting to her new life and the terms of her probation, finding it difficult to get a job. She intentionally violates her probation and is sent back to Litchfield. And after her trial, she'll likely be in prison for the rest of her life.

Like Sister Ingalls, Jimmy is given a compassionate release, but it doesn't actually seem too compassionate in the end. Jimmy has a severe mental illness and is simply left at a bus stop, likely unable to fend for herself.

Alex is back in Litchfield's maximum-security prison in OITNB season six. But in the second season, she is released after taking a plea deal. Piper ends up being the reason Alex returns to Litchfield, tipping off her probation officer, via Polly, that Alex might be planning to violate her probation. When the officer arrives at Alex's door, she has a gun, a violation of her probation terms. Eventually, though, Alex and Piper make up, even having a "prison wedding" before Piper's release.

Before either of them is at Litchfield, Taystee works for Vee's drug-dealing business. Vee doesn't get along with many of the other inmates, picking a fight with Red in particular. She manages to use the older ladies' greenhouse to escape, but her freedom doesn't last long. Miss Rosa hits Vee with the van as she makes her own escape.

Miss Rosa has terminal cancer, and she is seen undergoing chemotherapy while she is a Litchfield inmate. After Rosa learns that she only has a few weeks to live, Lorna decides to help her die with dignity. Lorna leaves the keys to the prison van so Miss Rosa can drive away. In the season two finale, Rosa hits Vee, who has also escaped Litchfield, during her drive away from the prison. But in the season three premiere, it's revealed that Rosa drove into a quarry.

Like Miss Claudette and Taslitz, Stella is moved from Litchfield Penitentiary to a maximum-security prison. But in Stella's case, we know she is in the same Max where season six takes place. Badison tells Piper that she knew Stella and that she was released from Max.

Thanks to her good behaviour, Aleida is released early in season four, before the riot happens. But she still plays a central role in the OITNB story in seasons five and six. In season five, Aleida learns from Judy that Daya has shot C.O. Humphrey. And in season six, Aleida starts smuggling drugs into the maximum-security prison so she can earn enough money to rent a new apartment and regain custody of her children. But in the season six finale, Aleida realises that Daya is hooked on the very drugs she's responsible for getting to the prison.

Judy is sent to Litchfield for tax evasion, but as a celebrity, she's not subject to the same mistreatment that many of the other inmates are. Judy has her own room at Litchfield, and she gets an early release after what doesn't seem like a huge amount of time, at least on the show. The scheduled early release is interrupted by the riot, but the other inmates release Judy while the prison is on lockdown. After her release, though, Judy continues stirring things up, revealing to Aleida during an interview that Daya is the one who shot C.O. Humphrey.

Pennsatucky is one of the few inmates who could have gotten away with escaping from Litchfield. But after a few days with C.O. Coates and C.O. Dixon, Pennsatucky decides she'd rather finish her sentence than flee to Canada. Still, she's able to blackmail Linda about her relationship with Boo, which means she gets to live in "Florida," the best cell block in the maximum-security prison.

Chang escapes through the hole in the prison fence, the same way Pennsatucky does. But in season six, Natalie Figueroa reveals that Chang is found, so it's safe to guess she was sent to one of the other maximum-security prisons in the country. (Many of the show's main characters are missing in the sixth season, because the Litchfield inmates have been separated on buses to various prisons.)

Sophia has a fairly happy ending to her prison journey, though it comes at a price. Caputo asks Sophia to join a class-action suit against PolyCon/MCC and to share her experience being mistreated by the system. But when Linda offers her $300,000 and an early release, the offer is too good to refuse. As Sophia tells Caputo, she can use that money to send her son to college.

Considering Piper's character is inspired by the real-life Piper Kerman, who wrote the memoir Orange Is the New Black, it might seem a little strange to have a season without Piper being incarcerated. And she doesn't technically earn that early release, either. C.O. Hopper switches her to the top of the list, worried that she might catch on to his and Aleida's drug smuggling. But Piper is due to be released within a number of months, anyway. She might be able to better help the other inmates by advocating for prison reform from the outside, too — especially since, as Taystee reminds her, Piper is still more privileged than many of the other inmates.

Blanca doesn't get additional time added to her sentence after the riot. So when C.O. Hopper puts together the list of inmates who would qualify for early release, she earns her spot on the list. Unfortunately, Blanca never gets to greet her boyfriend and try for the baby they want to have together. Along with a number of other newly released inmates, Blanca is sent to an ICE bus in the OITNB season six finale.