We had some discussion last night over how to play the print version of this morning's story on DA Jim Woodall seeking the death penalty against Demario Atwater, one of Eve Carson's accused killers. (The other suspect, Laurence Lovette, at 17, is too young to be eligible for capital punishment.)
Since the story had been online since late morning, I wanted to lead the print story with Atwater and Lovette trolling Rosemary Street looking for someone to rob when they saw Carson alone at her computer through a window. That was chilling to me, because it puts us in the moment and again emphasizes what police said from Day One: this was a random crime. It took many a while to believe that, given Carson's prominence on campus.
Front page editor Steve Merelman wanted to play up the unusualness of the DA going for the death penalty in a Chapel Hill case. He pointed to a good string on OrangePolitics.org that blogger/activist (is that redundant?) Fred Black put up shortly after Monday's hearing. So, because we usually try to do what that Page One editor asks, staff writer Jesse DeConto went back out to get some public reaction. You can read it here if you have not already.
What do you think? When a story has already been online should we revise it for print the next day? Is the story here the DA going for the death penalty, the unusualness of that in our community or the reminder that no one is really safe anymore? There are no right and wrong answers.
Comments
Why is 17 too young?
Tue, 08/12/2008 - 15:39 — DebrahWe all recall being 17.
Most young kids are just as mature at 17 as they are at 18, or 19, or 21.
Especially when they are as "experienced" as are these two men.
Why is a year or two so significant when bearing the responsibility of something you have done?
It's a shame that Lovette will slide.
If reports are accurate, he did more damage to Eve Carson than his partner during this horrific episode.
I agree
Tue, 08/12/2008 - 14:51 — wcivilsGood call to play up the unusualness of the DA going for the death penalty in Orange Co. One quesiton, why mention when the last person from Orange was to be executed? Neither one of the Eve Carson murderers are from Orange, both are from Durham. That kind of threw me off. The fact they were trolling around at 3 am looking for someone to rob was certainly disturbing, and should've been mentioned high up in the story (as it was). Perhaps this would be a good follow up piece to write about the dangers of being out in Chapel Hill at that hour, or why they went there from Durham.
Perhaps this would be a good follow up piece to write about the
Tue, 08/12/2008 - 16:28 — Anonymous (not verified)But she wasn't "out" at that hour. She was working in the "safety" of her own home doing what a student is supposed to do. Or, perhaps, as has also been suggested, she was on her way to school to prepare reports for class the next day. Whether they saw her through the window, or grabbed her as she walked to her car, they behaved like animals and need to be punished. Maybe the next story needs to be how landlords and the Chapel Hill Police need to step up security off campus.