First Place, General News - Amy E. Voigt / The (Toledo) BladeNick Fee, the victims brother, is held back by authorities while he engages with words with Curtis Clinton after Clinton received the death penalty for murdering Heather Jackson and her 3-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son.
Second Place, General News - Katie Rausch / The (Toledo) BladeCosma Miller, of South Toledo, cries as she shares memories of her friend Wendabi Triplett, who was gunned down in December of 2012. Triplett's estranged husband, Robert Carter, is charged with aggravated murder. Triplett was murdered in front of her three children outside the house of a friend.
Third Place, General News - Marvin Fong / The Plain DealerSchool buses arrive for the start of another day of classes at Center Middle School in Strongsville, but this bus carried a message to the striking teachers written on the bus window: "Come back." Monday marked two weeks since the beginning of the Strongsville teachers strike. School administrators and teachers left a negotiation session Sunday, led by a federal mediator, with nothing resolved.
Award of Excellence, General News - Courtney Hergesheimer / The Columbus DispatchAfter burying Eid Badi Shahad, 39, his wife, Entisar W. Hameed, 31, and their four daughters, mourners stay for the last prayer lead by the Imam, at the Islamic Cemetery of Columbus for burial. The six were killed in a car accident early Friday morning, leaving five brothers on their own.
Award of Excellence, General News - Eamon Queeney / The Columbus DispatchPrincipal of Asbury Elementary Jim Sullivan (left) Nancy Gillespie, school board vice president, right, and the rest of Groveport Madison's levy committee react as the election results stack up against them while they gather at Flyers restaurant. Groveport Madison lost a $5.5 million emergency levy to stave off $2.6 million in cuts that include high-school busing and 17 teaching jobs by only 16 votes.
Award of Excellence, General News - John Kuntz / The Plain DealerA US Army honor guard carries the casket of Army specialist Angel Luis Lopez from Craciun Funeral Home where they walked in a processional down Detroit Avenue to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church for his funeral service. Lopez died of injuries suffered in Afghanistan. He will be laid to rest at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman, Ohio.
Award of Excellence, General News - Jabin Botsford / Western Kentucky UniversityA day after George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a man argues with New York City police officers at West 34th Street on July 14, 2013. He and thousands of other protesters who questioned the verdict of the trial blocked traffic as they made their way from Union Square to Times Square.
Award of Excellence, General News - Marvin Fong / The Plain DealerMark Podolak reacts after hearing that his former sister-in-law Holly McFeeture was found guilty in the anti-freeze poisoning death of his brother, Matthew Podolak. His mother, Patricia Romano, left, is embraced by relative Ralph Bottone.
