Mistakes happen. That's all fine and dandy unless you're talking about sending people to prison. Then mistakes are a pretty big deal. As the opening sentence of the press release for the Wrongful Convictions in Washington State forum at the University of Washington Tacoma points out, "Four people who were convicted of major crimes and incarcerated in Washington state prisons have been exonerated and released since 2008, thanks to the efforts of the Innocence Project Northwest."

Wednesday, UW Tacoma's Stephen Ross, assistant professor in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and the forum's organizer, invites moderator Paula Wissel of KPLU and panelists including Innocence Project Northwest director and UW School of Law associate professor Jacqueline McMurtie, Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist (or a representative from his office) and Alan Northrop, who was exonerated in 2010 of a rape conviction in Washington state, to discuss wrongful convictions in our state, how they happen and what can be done to avoid them.

[UWT-Philip Hall, 6-7:30 p.m., free, registration required at tacoma.uw.edu, 1900 Commerce St., Tacoma]