How All The Characters In Orange Is The New Black Ended Up In Prison *SPOILERS*

You're all over season 4 of Orange Is The New Black, but can you remember why our fine heroines are in prison in the first place?

How All The Characters In Orange Is The New Black Ended Up In Prison *SPOILERS

by Jess Commons |
Published on

Sure you're knee deep in Orange is the New Black, but can you remember back to previous seasons as to *why *our heroines are in jail? Here's your cheat sheet.

Red

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Her crime hasn't been explicitly explained yet but troubles kicked off when Red punched the wife of a Russian mob boss in the chest and popped her fake boob.

In order for Red and her husband Dmitri to pay off the debt to the mob boss, Dmitri had to carry out certain unpleasant tasks for the mob. Like storing corpses in his shop. Red, meanwhile, found out she was good at organised crime, and got more and more involved with the mob's big cheeses...

Piper

After college, middle class Piper met Alex and the two embarked on a relationship. Alex, an international drug smuggler, convinced Piper to take a suitcase full of $50,000 in drugs money on a flight to Belgium. Piper and Alex fly around the world together, living off the profits from Alex's narcotics business. However, when Alex asks Piper to smuggle again, she refuses and leaves her.

Years later, Alex is caught and names Piper as an accomplice. They come for her two years before the statute of limitations on her crime runs out.

Alex Vause

The drug dealer that got Piper into trouble. Alex, who grew up dirt poor not knowing her father, went on a quest to find him. Trouble is, when she does, she finds out he's pretty lame. And possibly incestuous. She does meet his drug dealer though, Farhi, who quickly envelopes her into the world of high rolling drug dealing.

Big Boo

Big Boo's crimes aren't known yet. What we do know though is how she's struggled to be accepted as who she is her whole life. She chose to forgo saying goodbye to her Mother on her death bed because her father tried to get her to change into a dress. It's something she's still working on.

Morello

The best episode ever. This was when we found out that 'Christopher 'wasn't actually Morello's fiance at all and was instead was some dude she went on one date with, then stalked, later targetting his new girlfriend Angela.

Morello was arrested when she tried to blow up Christopher's car.

Poussey

Poussey's crime is only revealed in that painful last episode of Season 4. She was a 'nonviolent offender, picked up in Brooklyn for trespassing and possession with intent to sell.' She had less than half an ounce of weed on her. She grew up the daughter of a military man who fell out with her father when they caught her having a relationship with the daughter of a German officer.

It is later mentioned that she dealt marijuana.

Cindy

Cindy's crimes are well documented although we don't know exactly what it is that got her locked up. Cindy worked at an airport and was forever nicking things belonging to passengers. One time she pinched an iPad and gave it to her little sister - who actually turned out to be her secret daughter.

Taystee

This was entirely Vee's fault (remember Vee?). Vee found Taystee when she was a child and took her under her wing. Unfortunately that meant bringing her into her drug dealing business where she worked as a kind of accountant. Vee eventually had Taystee's 'brother' RJ killed.

Mendoza

Gloria once ran a corner shop. In it she was running a scheme involving fraud and government food stamps. We don't massively understand.

She also had a douchebag abusive boyfriend who tried to rob her after she was arrested but he got locked in the back room and burned to death.

Daya

Daya is Diaz's daughter. Diaz's boyfriend Ceasar was left in charge of Daya and her siblings whilst Diaz went to prison for Ceasar's drug charges. Daya slept with Ceasar to get back at her (unbelievably rubbish) imprisoned mother. She was probably arrested for being involved with Ceasar's drug operation.

Crazy Eyes

Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren was adopted by a middle class white family and, growing up, she never fitted in. Her little sister Grace, blonde and popular, breezed through life while Crazy Eyes struggled with everything.

When Crazy Eyes was grown up, her sister Grace went away for a weekend. Crazy Eyes accidentally kidnapped a boy she recognised from her work in a supermarket. The boy, Dylan, tries to run and falls over the side of a fire escape, presumably to his death.

Ruiz

Something of a force to be reckoned with in Season 4, all we know about Ruiz's background is that she was raised with a fiercely patriotic Domincan father. Who also happened to be a drug dealer. Younger Ruiz wanted nothing to do with her father's business. Perhaps older Ruiz gave in?

Pennsatucky

Tiffany Doggett never had a chance. Her mother all but encouraged her to become a prostitute and, several abortions and a drug addiction later, Pennsatucky found herself in an abortion clinic for her fifth abortion. During a fight with nurse, she got a gun and shot him.

Pro-Life groups adopted her cause and paid for her defense. She still was sentenced to prison however.

Soso

If Soso can end up in prison, *anyone *can end up in prison. The mild mannered university student was arrested for living in a tree to prevent it from being cut down.

Mate.

Flaca

Flaca is turning out to be one of the good ones. At school, sick of having no money, she created fake LSD tabs which she sold at school. For a while she was living the high life, buying all the new clothes she wanted.

Until, that is, some guy who believed himself to be high on her LSD tabs jumped off a building.

Nicky

Who's glad Nicky's back? Everyone. Nicky's mother has been totally useless her entire life. She is however, very rich. Nicky got into heroin early on and was eventually arrested for stealing a taxi. Her big crime though? She was caught breaking into a rich lady's house to steal her expensive books to sell for heroin. She was also carrying heroin at the time.

Maritza

Growing up in New York, Maritza dabbled in small time cons whilst she worked as a waitress in a bar. As she gets older she moves on to new ventures, including a car stealing scam. It doesn't go well.

Janae

Janae was a going to be a track superstar. But her strict Muslim father tried to stop her - disapproving of the skimpy outfits. Later, Janae, always after a boyfriend, fell in with a gang, got a boyfriend, and helped him rob a bank. She was caught.

Leanne

The backstory you didn't see coming. Leanne was Amish and, on her rumpspringa (the year Amish teenagers take off to decide if they want continue on in their faith), she took to selling drugs to other Amish kids on their year off. She returns to the Amish community but police find her backpack filled with drugs. Leanne dobs in other Amish kids involved and the community turn their back on her.

Lolly

This season's loveable breakout star. Lolly suffers from some sort of personality disorder and has, for most of her life, been hearing voices that tell her the government is spying on her. Her crime isn't known yet but she was, before being arrested, living on the streets.

Diaz

Daya's mother who took the fall for her no good, cheating, drug dealing boyfriend Ceasar.

Norma

Norma doesn't speak because she's got a stutter. One day she finds an organisation run by a guy who understands her. Unfortunately, the 'organisation' becomes less 'nice spiritual community' and more 'Manson family' and soon, it's just Norma and their once charismatic leader. She pushes him off a cliff when he finally snaps at her.

Blanca

What her crime is we don't know BUT we do know that prior to her incarceration she was meant to be looking after an old rich lady who she treated terribly.

Sophia

Poor old Sophia found herself in prison after committing credit card fraud to fund her secret life as a woman. Credit card fraud is bad, although it's probably worse when you consider she was working as a fireman and stealing the details of the victims whose houses burned down.

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Follow Jess on Twitter @Jess_Commons

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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