[2] Lewkowicz attended Ohio University, where she completed a master's degree in Visual Communication.
[4][5] The article showed photographs of Shane, a 31-year-old ex-convict abusing his 19-year-old girlfriend Maggie, and was accompanied by an essay by Lewkowicz.
In the essay Lewkowicz described how her initial purpose for photographing the couple was to "paint a portrait of the catch-22 of being a released ex-convict: even though they are physically free, the metaphorical prison of stigma doesn’t allow them to truly escape.
Once they returned home and entered the house's kitchen, the two continued to fight and Shane escalated the dispute and attacked Maggie in view of her daughter Memphis, who had heard the altercation.
[6] After the photos were published in Time Lewkowicz began receiving criticism from Internet users, who questioned why she continued to photograph while the physical violence was still ongoing.