Finalist: Los Angeles Times, by Liz O. Baylen

Aaron Rubin waits while a caregiver prepares his bed for an afternoon rest before dinner. (December 31, 2012)

Once an able-bodied young man, Aaron Rubin now receives full-time care from his mother, Sherrie, his father, Mike, and a handful of caregivers. (December 31, 2012)

Since his overdose, Aaron Rubin has been in physical therapy, trying to regain muscular function and coordination. (December 31, 2012)

'I am sick. I still can't stop taking pills even after detox. I am in a black hole filled with pain, self-loathing, despair and darkness'. (December 31, 2012)

Pill bottles line a dresser and a nightstand in a San Diego home, a scene familiar to many households in which prescription drug addiction has taken hold. (December 31, 2012)

Police investigators search a suspected 'ghost clinic' in Reseda, Calif. (December 31, 2012)

A man is arrested and booked for possession of a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit prescription fraud outside a medical clinic, according to authorities that raided the office and found the clinic operating without a doctor.  (December 31, 2012)

A woman waits to be questioned by authorities outside a suspected 'pill mill' in Sylmar, Calif., during an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and other agencies.  (December 31, 2012)

Less than four days through his treatment at Malibu Beach Recovery Center, Edward Shut strains to relax in his evening yoga class.  (November 11, 2012)

After 10 years of abusing medications, all prescribed by doctors, Edward Shut checked himself into Malibu Beach Recovery Center. (December 31, 2012)

Edward Shut at Malibu Beach Recovery Center. (November 11, 2012)

John Jackson, a former stuntman who broke his back on the job, meets with Dr. Julio Diaz during an appointment. (December 31, 2012)

Dr. Julio Diaz is led from his Santa Barbara office after being arrested on federal drug trafficking charges; soon after, his medical license would be revoked. (December 9, 2012)

In a parking lot outside the coroner's office in Bakersfield, Calif., Susan and Ray Klimusko see their son Austin for the first time since his overdose death; standing next to them is their son Kyle. (December 31, 2012)

As a community we have been quietly suffering, long dreading the worst, and the worst is here,' Susan Klimusko told the City Council in Simi Valley, Calif. (December 31, 2012)

Friends and family sign Austin Klimusko's casket at his funeral in Simi Valley. (December 31, 2012)

Susan Klimusko saved her son's pillow because its scent reminds her of when he was still alive. (December 31, 2012)