Shirley Ree Smith sits in the living room of her daughter's upstairs duplex in Alexandria, Minn. Smith is waiting to hear if California Gov. Jerry Brown will grant her clemency. "They say things happen for a reason. I'm not sure if I'll ever figure out a reason for all of this," she says. Courtney Perry for NPR hide caption
Ernie Lopez hugs his daughter, Nikki Lopez, for the first time since 2009. Ernie was released from prison on March 2 in Amarillo, Texas, after nine years, while he awaits a new trial. Katie Hayes Luke/Katie Hayes Luke for NPR hide caption
Colleagues of Renee Royak-Schaler at the University of Maryland School of Medicine paid for and conducted an autopsy that revealed that cancer had ravaged her body. Today, autopsies are conducted on just 5 percent of patients. Jenna Isaacson Pfueller/ProPublica hide caption
Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby has missed months of play because of a concussion. Alan Diaz/AP hide caption
Sgt. Victor Medina suffered brain damage in 2009 when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq. Blake Gordon/Aurora Photos hide caption
Unlike the medical examiner's office in New Mexico, which routinely autopsies sudden or violent deaths, most U.S. hospitals perform postmortem examinations only rarely. John W. Poole/NPR hide caption
Dollar coins gathering dust in the Fed's Baltimore brach. John W. Poole/NPR hide caption
Dr. Alex Dromerick co-directs the Brain Research Center at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Here he observes Stephen Jones, a policeman who was involved in a motorcycle accident. Becky Lettenberger/NPR hide caption
The Ash Grove Cement Kiln, as seen from an aerial photograph, sits on the northern edge of Chanute, Kan. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption
Jeff Galemore leans on his pickup truck near the Ash Grove Cement plant in Chanute, Kan. He and his family are concerned about the toxic emissions and are fighting for independent testing downwind. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption