“When I took my guilty plea, I didn’t think that I was going to be doing a life sentence,” Michael says. “The interest on these fines makes it where a person on a limited income will never be able to get out from the wreckage of the past.” Michael is a Native American disabled veteran who lives solely on his Veterans Affairs pension of $1,070 per month. In addition to a five-year sentence, Michael was ordered to pay $11,000 in legal financial obligations.
Read the story: “Attorney uses photography and storytelling for legal empowerment”