Carol Smith's stories focused on different aspects of a system that led to a random killing by a severely mentally ill man with a history of violence.
Judges' comments: Carol Smith of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer offers a beautifully painful series exposing the fault lines in the nation's treatment services for the mentally ill. This a tough and chronic issue to take on, but Smith masterfully captivates readers with the real-life stories of people affected by mental illness. The writing is superb.