Michelle Fridley, 33, with her cat in her apartment in Canadaigua, N.Y. Ten years ago, on the way to her baby shower, Fridley, then 23, was in a car accident that left her a quadriplegic. This year, she was crowned Miss Wheelchair New York. John Poole/NPR hide caption
Shirley Ree Smith, whose prison sentence was commuted by California Gov. Jerry Brown, began creating greeting cards for her grandchildren while she was incarcerated. While she was out of custody after a series of legal appeals, until today, she still faced the possibility of returning to prison. Courtney Perry for NPR hide caption
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