We recently covered the whirlwind trial of Antwan Pittman in Bertie County.  He was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Taraha Shenice Nicholson, 28, whose body was found on March 7, 2009.  This was an incredibly emotional trial for everyone involved, family members of both the victim and the suspect were present throughout the trial, along with supporters for both sides.  Edgecombe County Sheriff James L. Knight and other officials have suggested her death may be related to at least 10 other deaths whose bodies were found in the past several years in rural Edgecombe County. Though Pittman has not been implicated in any of the other deaths, members of those victims families also attended the trial.

On top of the emotional aspect of trial photography, is the judge.  Judge Cy Grant didn't want the distraction of a still photographer in the courtroom.  The TV crews used a technique called 'pooling' where they all feed off one camera in the courtroom.  Our equipment is not able to do this, and Judge Grant was kind enough to allow me to shoot video off of my DSLR.  As a result, all images that we ran from the trial are actually video stills.  Not an ideal situation, as quality is compromised, but we appreciated Judge Grant's cooperation.

Once the verdict was announced and the trial was ended, Brie Handgraaf, our reporter for the trial, and I interviewed Diana Nicholson, the victim's mother, along several family members of the other young ladies whom had been killed but no official charges had been filed, and Antwan Pittman's aunt.  This is an emotional and overwhelming moment, and we appreciate their kindness in taking the time to talk with us.  When family members open up to us, it gives us the opportunity to connect the readers to the story on an emotional level.  We know it is a difficult time, and talking to the media isn't always on their list of things they'd like to do. Sometimes people get over aggressive when 'big news' is breaking, and get caught up in 'getting the shot', and loose sight of the fact that the people we are talking to/photographing are, in fact, people.  I hope we were able to handle ourselves in a respectable manner, and a great thanks to those who took the time to talk with us.