Shouting into the Darkness: Life as a Mentally Ill Drug Addict in the 21st Century

On March 1, 2009, Matthew Laughrin's life changed forever. A Milwaukee Police Department tactical team burst into his home and arrested him for the fatal drug overdose of a teenage girl. The girl had died in his house the previous evening while he was asleep. Matthew was no stranger to drugs, addiction, or death—they were the forces that had consumed his life since childhood. But this time the consequences would be different.

Ultimately convicted of second-degree reckless homicide, Matthew w...