Blue Earth photographer Debbie Espinosa will share her work and host a panel discussion around her project Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods scheduled for Tuesday, March 27 from 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM at University Lutheran Church in Seattle. Click for additional details, directions, and to purchase tickets.

The purpose of law is to serve our communities by level the playing field and creating a more just society. Documentary photographer Deborah Espinosa believes that the only way to know if a law is serving us is to listen to those most impacted. Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State is a multi-media and civic engagement project about how the State of Washington sentences people not just to prison, but to a lifetime of debt.

Failure to make monthly payments for “legal financial obligations” that are due in the wake of prison time can result in arrest, and the loss of housing, jobs, and children. Espinosa and a panel of individuals featured in Living in Conviction join us to share their stories of trying to survive and thrive under court-imposed costs, fees, fines, and victim restitution.