In 2004, 1200 people were shot – and 341 killed – in the city of Detroit.  In their Dart Award-winning six-part series, “Homicide in Detroit: Echoes of Violence,” reporter Jeff Seidel and photographer Eric Seals examine the community impact of murder. In this photograph, evidence markers signify bullet casings around the dead body of Barrett DeWayne Pettes, 21. Pettes was shot three times outside the Wild Cherry Lounge by bar owner Roger Bales after approaching Bales and his girlfriend with a gun, demanding their money.

Photo by Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press,
2005 Dart Award Winner, "Homicide in Detroit"

Standing in his kitchen, Lawrence McGill, shows off a picture of his dead son Michael McGill and his grandson, Michael McGill Jr, nicknamed Fat-Fat.  Michael McGill went missing on May 4, 2004 and was found dead 10 days later in an abandoned home that was a hangout for drug users.

Photo by Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press,
2005 Dart Award Winner, "Homicide in Detroit"
The Bible is always open at the home of Emyshia Trapp, 8, who lives with her mother, three other adults and several other children. It faces the street they live on and is meant to protect the household. Every morning the family prays and asks for Jesus’ blood to cover and protect the home. On the night of June 16, 2004, an argument between three men outside ended in a shooting that sent three stray bullets into Emyshia’s home.

Photo by Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press,
2005 Dart Award Winner, "Homicide in Detroit"
Detroit Police Homicide Detective Dwight Pearson takes his handcuffed suspect for a quiet walk down the street while trying obtain information from him about a shooting at the Copa Bar, where a man was killed and his girlfriend was shot in the face.  After additional questioning, Pearson determined that the suspect did not have any relevant information.

Photo by Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press,
2005 Dart Award Winner, "Homicide in Detroit"
Detroit Police Officer Marvin Quinal uses a flashlight to look for bullet holes in a home.  An argument between three men nearby ended in a shooting that sent three stray bullets through the front window.  Eight children were on a couch near the windows at the time of the shooting and narrowly escaped serious injury.

Photo by Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press,
2005 Dart Award Winner, "Homicide in Detroit"
In 1999, Jacqui Saburido was struck by a drunk driver and survived; but she suffered third-degree burns over 60% of her body, lost her nose and ears and has limited vision.  In their series “Chasing Hope” for the Austin-American Statesman, writer David Hafetz and photographer Rodolfo Gonzalez tell the story of Jacqui and her father’s quest to salvage her body, restore her independence and maintain her dignity. In this photograph, Jacqui, who struggles to do basic tasks, wipes her face.

Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez, Austin American-Statesman,
2003 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Chasing Hope"
Two children follow Jacqui’s every movement as she heads toward her psychologist’s office in Galveston before their mother pulls them away. It’s a common occurrence, one that Jacqui understands. Back in Venezuela she used to look, too. If she saw someone missing an arm, she looked, even when she knew it made the person uncomfortable. "I am so curious," she says.

Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez, Austin American-Statesman,
2003 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Chasing Hope"
Jacqui and her father, Amadeo, have fought hard for little victories that have produced some dramatic gains. During Jacqui’s long recovery, their lives have been dominated by an exhausting routine of therapies and treatments. She slept with a mask to reduce scarring and her father helped her with stretching exercises for her arm before she went to bed.

Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez, Austin American-Statesman,
2003 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Chasing Hope"
In their Dart Award-winning series for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Children of the Underground,” reporter Mackenzie Carpenter and photographer Allan Detrich examine the lives of children on the run. In this photograph, Mandy Meyers displays an ADVO card from the first time that she and her mother entered the underground for the first time in February 1988. Mandy was three years old at the time.

Photo by Allan Detrich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
1998 Dart Award Winner, "Children of the Underground"
Mandy Meyers is comforted by her underground mother after learning that she will be moving to another location the following week.  Mandy had lived with this family for over six months and has grown quite attached to them.  She must now leave them to remain safe.

Photo by Allan Detrich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
1998 Dart Award Winner, "Children of the Underground"
Mandy Meyers looks out the window through closed blinds after hearing several car doors close outside the safe house.  She is worried that the police have found her.  Meyers was left alone at home much of the day when family members went to school and work.

Photo by Allan Detrich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
1998 Dart Award Winner, "Children of the Underground"
The physical, emotional and financial consequences of firing a handgun can be devastating.  In their Dart Award winning series for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, “Path of a Bullet,” reporter GM Bush and photographer Paul Hu offer an inside look at the incalculable toll a single bullet had on one community.  In this photograph, Long Beach Police Identification Technician II Rudy Escobar photographs the crime scene.  He is one of at least 48 police officers and other personnel who worked on the case the night of the shooting.

Photo by Paul Hu, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA),
1997 Dart Award Winner, "Path of a Bullet"
Doctors and nurses at St. Mary Hospital work to resuscitate Martine with oxygen, CPR for the heart and lungs and intravenous fluids, while examining the damage caused by the bullet.

Photo by Paul Hu, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA),
1997 Dart Award Winner, "Path of a Bullet"
The day before the funeral, members of the East Side Longos attend their friend’s wake. The next day, more than 200 people attended his service.

Photo by Paul Hu, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA),
1997 Dart Award Winner, "Path of a Bullet"
In the late 1970’s, the Khymer Rouge terrorized the Cambodian people, killing an estimated 1.7-3 million.  In their 12-part series for the Rocky Mountain News, “Healing Fields,” reporter Jane Hoback and photographer Ellen  followed Randa and Setan Lee, a Colorado couple who escaped the reign of horror and returned to their homeland 20 years later on a mission of faith to rescue forgotten women.  In this photograph, a woman fans herself on a porch of a brothel in Phnom Penh.  When Setan and Randa returned to Cambodia in 1990, they were shocked to see how many women had become prostitutes.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO),
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "The Healing Fields"
At a brothel in Kampong Thom, Pastor Sinoeun Chea, Deputy Director for Kampuchea for Christ (hand is at top), negotiates a price to purchase three prostitutes. The book is a ledger that Polly, the brothel owner, uses to keep track of how much each prostitute owes. The red smudge on the bottom of the page is a red-ink thumbprint of one of the prostitutes.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO),
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "The Healing Fields"
Na Lin, 36, left, and Leap Sok, 21, both prostitutes, wait at their brothel before leaving for the New Development Center for Women. Na Lin became a prostitute to support her two children, but she has paid an enormous price: four years ago, Na was infected with HIV.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO),
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "The Healing Fields"
Young women learn to sew at the Battambang Trade School. A sign above the students’ heads is a reminder of the donations from the Boulder Valley Rotary Club.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO),
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "The Healing Fields"
In their four-part series for the Omaha World-Herald, “Lethal Impulse: Understanding Teen Suicide,”  reporters Jeremy Olson and Erin Grace and photographer Matt Miller tell the stories of 37 youths. An image of the Keefover family praying before their Easter brunch is reflected in the last message that 14-year old Preston Keefover left for his family before he took his life on May 18, 2001.  Preston etched the note in drywall near the place where he died.  His family framed and hung the note in their dining room.

Photo by Matt Miller, Omaha World-Herald,
2006 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Lethal Impulse"
Kim Brown, one of Lindsay Whitaker’s best friends, visits the grave on the anniversary of Whitaker’s death four years ago.

Photo by Matt Miller, Omaha World-Herald,
2006 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Lethal Impulse"
News coverage of high-profile rapes often ends with a courtroom verdict. But in the Providence Journal’s Dart Award-winning story, “Rape in a Small Town,” writer Kate Bramson and photographer Bob Thayer detail sexual assault's lingering effects through a year and a half in the life of Laura, a girl who was raped by a popular high school classmate. In this photograph, Marilyn Kelley, the school nurse at Burrillville High School, looks toward the bed where Laura sat the morning after the rape occurred. Kelley says Laura was crying quietly; After Kelley noticed a large bruise on Laura’s arm, Laura told her what had happened the night before.

Photo by Bob Thayer, Providence Journal,
2004 Dart Award Winner, "Rape in a Small Town"
Laura is an accomplished artist. She sketched one of her own shoes in a studio art class at Burrillville High School where she is a student.

Photo by Bob Thayer, Providence Journal,
2004 Dart Award Winner, "Rape in a Small Town"
Laura, reflected in a mirror at her home where she spends much of her time.

Photo by Bob Thayer, Providence Journal,
2004 Dart Award Winner, "Rape in a Small Town"
Since 1993, hundreds of women have been killed in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.  In the eight-part series “Women of Juárez” for the Orange County Register, writers Yvette Cabrera and Minerva Canto and photographer Rose Palmisano tell the stories of these women through the eyes of survivors, and show how these serial killings have transformed one border community. This photographic portrait shows Esther Cano, who started documenting the murders of young girls in 1994.  At age 70, she has become the leading voice for women’s rights in Juarez.  She is shown here next to a memorial for eight women whose bodies were found in 2001.

Photo by Rose Palmisano, Orange County Register,
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Women of Juárez"
Once or twice a month Miriam García takes the five-hour journey from Juárez  to Chihuahua for a conjugal visit with her husband.  “It’s a beautiful feeling to be able to see him, talk to him, and just be close to him for a few hours,” she says. “It’s a constant struggle to keep up the visits. I have no money and every time I get on that bus and into that prison, I risk losing my life,” she said.

Photo by Rose Palmisano, Orange County Register,
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Women of Juárez"
Federico Ponce Hernández, who clutches the last photo taken of his daughter Erendira, alternates between feelings of impotence and a desire for revenge over her death. He hopes his pleas for justice will resonate around the world. And even though he no longer takes part in demonstrations against alleged government incompetence in investigating a series of grisly murders of young girls over the past decade, he will speak out to anyone who will listen about his daughter’s death.

Photo by Rose Palmisano, Orange County Register,
2005 Dart Award Honorable Mention, "Women of Juárez"
Sexual victimization of girls in the U.S.-Mexico border region is an often untold but common occurrence.  In their Dart Award-winning seven-part series for the Dallas Morning News, “Yolanda’s Crossing,” reporters Paul Meyer and Stella Chavez and photographer Lara Solt chronicle the flight of Yolanda Méndez Torres, a victim of child sexual abuse from rural Mexico, to a life of continued victimization as an illegal immigrant in the U.S. This image shows a photograph of Yolanda Méndez Torres, around the age of 14, kept by her sister Gabriela Méndez Torres, as one of the few reminders of Yolanda’s life in La Barra del Potrero, Mexico.

Photo by Lara Solt, Dallas Morning News,
2007 Dart Award Winner, "Yolanda's Crossing"
A young girl traces the shape of a heart on a bus window during the trip to Mexico City from Oaxaca on August 23, 2006. Yolanda made this same journey with Juan, wishing she could escape and fly away like a bird.

Photo by Lara Solt, Dallas Morning News,
2007 Dart Award Winner, "Yolanda's Crossing"
Yolanda Méndez Torres cries while remembering six years of rape and abuse by Juan García Aguilar, in her new home in Arlington, Texas.

Photo by Lara Solt, Dallas Morning News,
2007 Dart Award Winner, "Yolanda's Crossing"
Yolanda Méndez Torres puts make-up on Aidelin Adair Méndez, almost 2 years old, her child by Juan García Aguilar, in the bedroom of her new home in Arlington, TX. She still spends her days inside, taking care of her daughter, watching television and cooking.

Photo by Lara Solt, Dallas Morning News,
2007 Dart Award Winner, "Yolanda's Crossing"
Yolanda Méndez Torres and her daughter, Aidelin Adair Méndez, celebrate their freedom, cooling off in Joe Pool Lake in Cedar Hill, Texas.

Photo by Lara Solt, Dallas Morning News,
2007 Dart Award Winner, "Yolanda's Crossing"

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