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PrintAs journalists, we spend time in situations that would not be typical for most people. Our day-to-day jobs are not always exciting, but they certainly do put us in some unusual settings. Like a capital murder trial.
This video is the first in what we hope will be an occasional series of videos giving you, our readers, an inside look at the oddities of our jobs, how we are covering sensitive issues, what's the most fun about what we do — or anything else you want to know about how our newsroom operates. As part of the efforts of our brand new Community Outreach team, we would like to find chances to share what goes on behind the scenes of the stories you see.
- A handcuffed James Kraig Kahler was escorted from the Osage County Courthouse on Aug. 29 by deputies shortly after a jury decided to impose the death penalty on him.
- Stephen Peterson, forensic psychiatrist, told jurors James Kraig Kahler was psychologically out of control when he fatally shot four members of his family in November 2009 in Burlingame, Kan. Peterson was hired by the defense.
- Using his hands to symbolize scales, defense attorney Tom Haney told Osage County District Court jurors on Aug. 29 to weigh the mitigating and aggravating circumstances to decide whether to impose the death penalty on capital murderer James Kraig Kahler or put him in prison for life without parole.
- Osage County Attorney Brandon Jones numbers off the four victims as he urged jurors to impose the death penalty on capital murderer James Kraig Kahler in court on Aug. 29.
- Chief Judge Phillip Fromme and assistant attorney general Amy Hanley (right) and Osage County Attorney Brandon Jones waited for jurors to come into the courtroom to hear arguments on Aug. 29 on whether to impose the death penalty or a life sentence without parole on capital murderer James Kraig Kahler.
- James Kraig Kahler leaves the courthouse in Lyndon, Kan., after being sentenced to death Monday in the 2009 slayings of his wife, two teenage daughters and wife's grandmother.
- James Kraig Kahler, who was convicted last week of capital murder in the fatal shooting of his estranged wife, their two teenage daughters and his wife's grandmother, looks into the spectators gallery in Osage County District Court in Lyndon, Kan., during a break in his sentencing hearing Monday.
For this first video, we talked to Sangeeta Shastry, our reporter who was sent to Lyndon, Kan., to cover the Kraig Kahler capital murder trial. We asked her what it was like to cover such an emotionally charged story, what ethical considerations she faced and what she observed in the courtroom.
If you have a suggestion for a future “Behind the Scenes,” email us at news@columbiamissourian.com. We're thinking we might have a conversation with the football reporters next.
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