“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,” Martin Luther King, Jr, “Letters From a Birmingham Jail.” https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Photos & story by Emily Matthiessen
Multimedia artist, attorney and advocate for social justice reform, Deborah Espinosa, spoke to the Studium Generale audience at the Little Theater on the subject of legal financial fees (LFOs) imposed on convicts and the repercussions thereof for people already struggling with societal and personal issues when released. She also narrated a history of the importance of photographers in effecting social and legislative change. Espinosa said that to effect legal change, society-wide opinion must first be changed. Nearly one third of Americans have a criminal record, so the issue of post-prison debt and the difficulty of finding a job and affordable housing affects a large percentage of the population.
Espinosa’s Jan. 23rd presentation was part of Peninsula College’s Dream Week. Martin Luther King, Jr’s focus on social justice, including prison reform, and his deep understanding that in a truly free society every citizen would have equal rights and opportunity, regardless of wealth, stature, or heredity continues to inspire activists and reformers.
Espinosa’s presentation connected with the Dream Week showing of Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, intended to end slavery, which had language within it that has given cover for prisoner abuse and unjust incarceration. The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Espinosa is dedicated to the Living With Conviction Project, found at https:// www.livingwithconviction.org/, and with a coalition of organizations and individuals successfully lobbied the Washington State legislature to eliminate the 12 percent interest on LFOs for those convicted on or after June 17th, 2018.
This was a partial victory, as there are legal hurdles involved with getting it discharged retroactively, and there is still 12% interest attached to victim restitution. Espinosa said that the average minimum for LFOs is $2500 per person, which will double after seven years in prison, wherein wages are less than a dollar per hour.
Espinosa befriends, photographs, and records the stories of people who have served their time and dealt with crippling debt after release, as seen in a magazine for lawmakers, her websites, photography exhibitions, and a documentary movie in progress.
Her work has been instrumental in helping legislators and citizens understand the challenges convicts face when attempting to become productive members of society.
“There are many examples of media reaching decision makers, legislators, and causing change… there’s an enormous amount of historical experience… now it’s no less impactful.”
