From the early 1980s to 2000, condemned women were housed in an eight-cell building with an immediately adjacent, combined day room and work area. The communal area had a television and a center for making crafts. Mary Mapes, the author of "Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power", wrote that each cell was painted in bright colors and that the cells, which "could have been dorm rooms in a particularly austere college", had cots with "lacy touches", afghans, and "colorful pillows". She added that the death row in general had comfortable seating and was brightly colored.