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“If these people don’t ever release me from prison, if I exhaust all my remedies in court, I’m gonna make these people kill me,” Daniel Taylor said to his brother, David Taylor during the third time that David purposefully got himself incarcerated in order to spend time with Daniel. When Daniel Taylor was 17, he was wrongly convicted of a double murder that he physically could not have committed.  Police investigators beat him into the false confession that sealed his fate, but there was paperwork to prove he had been in police custody for disorderly conduct at the time the murders occurred.  Daniel spent two decades of his life sentence looking out from behind bars knowing that he had every right to be free.  On June 28th, 2013, the charges against Daniel were dropped and he was released from maximum-security prison in Menard, IL.  According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Daniel was the 90th to be exonerated in Cook County since 1989 and the 34th to be wrongfully convicted based on a faulty confession. This portrait is a part of a larger story,  Exonerated: Am I Really Free? , which was done for the Chicago Tribune.

Serenity Bamberger floats in the Little Blanco River along their property on August 18, 2015 in Blanco, Texas. Three months prior, over Memorial Day, the same river flooded their home and business destroying the majority of the family's belongings and source of income. The Memorial Day weekend flooding, which affected Texas and Oklahoma, killed 24 people according to The Associated Press. Three of those deaths occurred along the Blanco River of which the Little Blanco River is a direct tributary. Despite the toll the river has taken, Bertha Rivera, Serenity's grandmother, said, "The river bed was dry for years, so now that the water is here I tell the girls to take advantage of it all that they can."

Erin O'Loughlin embraces her son Brendan O'Loughlin after his brother Marcus O'Loughlin, who has autism, attacked him while they were playing on the trampoline outside the family's home in Cary, NC on October 6, 2014. As Marcus has aged, the frustrations that result from his autism have turned him violent towards his family. Shortly after this incident Erin and her husband Colm O'Loughlin decided to permanently move Marcus, at age 11, to an assisted living facility for their other children's safety as well as their own. "We know in our hearts that Marcus is going to need assistance for the rest of his life," Erin said. "As far as Marcus living a regular normal life with everybody else in the world, that might not be right for him and he might not be happy with that, so why should I push that on him? We just want Marcus to be happy. We want him to reach his full potential, whatever that might be."

Children play along 12th Street Beach in Chicago on August 13, 2013.  Lifeguards had told them to get out of Lake Michigan, because of rip tides and high levels of e. coli.

Joshua Seitter, 12, and Whiskey Lullaby stand for a portrait at the North Carolina State Fair on October 25, 2013.

Caiden Contreras, who has autism, stands for a portrait in the room he shares with three of his brothers at his home in San Antonio, Texas on May 27, 2015. His parents are both unemployed and living off of his and some of his siblings' disability checks, as well as several other forms of financial assistance from the government. His mother Sandra Contreras homeschools Caiden and four of his seven siblings at their home.

Miriam Alejandra Montecillos and Emely Ayala canter in formation during practice at La Herradura Ranch in San Antonio, Texas on March 7, 2015. "There is nothing else like escaramuza, so we know it is not forever, but we will do it as long as we can," Leticia Ozuna, mother of Montecillos and Ayala's teammate Caterina Ozuna, said.

Olivia Lampert of Jasper, 2, reached up to touch the buck on display in the High Life Hunt Club's barbecue booth during the Heimatfest in Ferdinand on June 21, 2014.

Casey attended her final high school prom with her mother Janice at Forest Park High School on April 26.  Although many people with autism are overwhelmed by loud noise and wild lights, Casey loved to dance with her mother to the music and watch her classmates interact.  Her brother Emerson, who attends Forest Park, was also there with a group of his friends.  Janice said, "I honestly think she felt like Cinderella or Belle that day and if it takes me going with her to make that happen, it is worth it to me."

Jill Ahrens looks at the damage to the Blanco River Bridge in Blanco, Texas on Saturday, May 30, 2015. "It makes me sick to think about the lives lost," Jill Ahrens said of the flooding. The bridge was destroyed during the flash floods that hit central Texas over Memorial Day weekend of 2015. The flooding, which affected Texas and Oklahoma, killed 24 people. Three of those deaths occurred along the Blanco River.

Willie Brantley does roofing in Tampa these days; however, at one point he was making his living "under the table."  He spent three years in prison because of that lifestyle, but is turning himself around.  He said, "I've watched this area decline, but that don't mean I got to keep declining with it."

Southridge senior Ethan Schwoeppe, bottom, Luke Stetter, junior, Drew Dearing, freshman, and Braden Harding, freshman, stacked on top of each other and cheered with the rest of the student section during halftime of their game against Washington in the IHSAA Class 3A sectional tournament in Huntingburg on Wednesday.  The Raiders lost 41-35.

The victim of a rape holds her hands to her face after recalling what happened during the attack in Hazel Crest, Ill. on Wednesday, August 7, 2013.  The Robbins Police Department failed to investigate the rape, which is now outside the statute of limitations.  However, investigators are now working on 52 other rape cases that remain within the statute of limitations.

Deborah Barr, 56, sits for a portrait after service at the Israel Bethel P.B. Church in Tampa on Sunday, November 17, 2013.  Barr, who is unable to read, carries a bible in her purse and is hoping to one day be able to read it.  Her story is a part of the Holiday Hopes series in which the Tampa Bay Times features the stories of those in need during the holiday season.  Readers are encouraged to reach out to the subjects of these stories with support and assistance.

At nearly midnight on June 2, 2015, Alondra Aragon, center, led a chant in City Hall in San Franciso, Calif. immediately after the Mission Moratorium was voted on. The final vote was 7-4 in favor of the moratorium, but the measure needed nine votes to be passed as an "interim emergency ordinance." Aragon and dozens of other Mission Moratorium supporters had filled the room for over eight hours that day. Of the supporters, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Member John Avalos said, "The rich fabric of the Mission is what is here today." Katy Tang, the supervisor from District 4, said, "This was incredibly moving for me, although at times emotional, very inspirational."

Reid Howard of Ferdinand, 8, walked a bat back to the dugout during the Class 2A sectional game in Tell City on May 30, 2014.  Forest Park was defeated by South Spencer 9-2.

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