Celebrating a milestone

Darlene Escalante, 25, reacts to being crowned the winner of the second annual Miss Independence Day Pageant by Jaren Francis, center, organizer of the pageant at Walden House, a halfway facility for women who have served time. In her essay, Escalante said: "Independence means breaking the cycle of three generations of incarceration. It means independence from three generations of drug addiction, it means independence from living a gang life." More photos >>>